1949 – 2015
LEVANT/BUCKFIELD — Donna Jean (Roy) Perry, 65, died after a long battle with cancer on Friday, Aug. 14, with her family by her side at her home in Levant.
She was born Sept. 22, 1949, in Norway, the first of six children to A. Franklin Roy and Barbara (Hammond) Roy.
Donna grew up in the Hartford-Buckfield area, attending a one-room school at Tyler Corner in Hartford and later at Buckfield High School, where she participated in numerous athletic and musical activities. She eventually graduated from Lewiston High School. Donna married her high school sweetheart and began raising a family in the Buckfield area before eventually moving to Stetson in 1974 and finally to Levant in 1991.
After several years of productive but unfulfilling employment, she was able to achieve her lifelong goal of becoming a registered nurse after graduating from Eastern Maine Medical Center School of Nursing, Class of 1981. She went on to complete a 30-year career at EMMC, completing many of those years of service as a nurse at Cancer Care of Maine, from which she retired in 2011.
Donna was a woman of many strengths and interests. When her boys were young, she was a Cub Scout den mother, enjoying the time with her boys and neighborhood children. She was a longtime organist and choir member at Stetson Union Church and in later years, at South Levant Baptist Church, where she continued to play long after suffering the effects of her last illness. She was a longtime member and past officer of the Stetson Ladies Aid, where she was well-known for her egg-frying skills at the annual Hunters Breakfast.
Donna was a member of the Clueless Quilters of Stetson, where she enjoyed the companionship of other like-minded women, and the Brewer Stitchers sewing group, where she participated in various sewing projects benefiting the homeless and needy of the area. She was also a member of the American Nurses Association of Maine and the Central Maine Trail Blazers ATV Club.
Donna enjoyed creating gifts for family and friends, crafting, gardening and decorating her home, both inside and out. For many years, she had boxes of decorations for every major holiday and season that were prominently displayed. She also made wedding and birthday cakes for many years. She enjoyed her Christian friends and the many trips that were taken to Word of Life.
Donna took pleasure in providing food for the church dartball team, which was appreciated by all league members. She also reveled in ATVing with her husband and friends. No need to find a way around a mud or water hole — right through the middle was fine with her. She especially enjoyed the overnight trips and the weeklong outings with special friends to “the County.” Traveling to a wide variety of destinations such as Aruba and Hawaii was another activity Donna really loved. Her most cherished times in later years was the time spent with her granddaughters, Shelby and Megan. Annual schooltime shopping trips and lunch at the Olive Garden were times not to be forgotten. Any time spent with family was always special to her.
She is survived by her husband of 49 years, Richard N. Perry Jr.; her sons, Alan Perry and his wife, Lori, of Etna, and Scott Perry of Brunswick; her two beloved granddaughters, Shelby and Megan of Etna; her brothers, Peter and his wife, Allison Roy, of Sherman, and Fred and his wife, Darlene Roy, of Turner; her sisters, Jackie and her husband, Wayne Tays, of South Berwick, Ginny and her husband, Ralph Chamberlain, of South Paris, and Judy Roy and her companion, Carlo Bruno, of Hebron; her mother-in-law and “second mother,” Lila Perry of Buckfield; her sisters-in-law, Sandra Chamberlain of Auburn and Suzanne Stevens of West Paris; her many nieces and nephews; and great-nieces and great-nephews.
In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her father-in-law, Richard N. Perry Sr.
Condolences to the family may be expressed at www.BrookingsSmith.com.
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