Craig M. Cleaves ’62 died on July 13, 2016, in Round Pond, Maine.

(The following was published in The Lincoln County News July 19, 2016:)

Craig Morrison Cleaves, 76, passed away at his home at Brown’s Cove, in Round Pond, on July 13, surrounded by love. In the past several years he had endured many serious health problems, which he faced with courage, resolve and an extraordinary will to live and to enjoy life.

As a psychologist, and as someone genuinely interested in people, he fostered countless friendships over the years, and was a steady presence in the lives of many. With a profound sense of empathy, he possessed an ability to provide comfort and support to those in need.

Born in Providence, R.I. on May 4, 1940 to Barbara (Morrison) Cleaves and Herbert Martin Cleaves, his family lived in Michigan and then Connecticut, where he graduated from Darien High School in 1958.

Family road trips to New Harbor in the 1950s instilled in Craig a deep love for the Maine coast. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1962, where he played football and lacrosse and was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity. He married Jenny Tincher, also from Darien, in 1963, after which they moved to the Washington, D.C., area, where Craig earned a PhD in clinical psychology from George Washington University in 1970. Immediately afterwards he moved his young family to Maine, settling in South Berwick. After a few years of working as a counselor in a clinic, he started a private practice in York and then Portsmouth, N.H. In the mid 1980s he shifted his practice to Portland and Damariscotta.

He is survived by his wife, Sara (Doonan) Cleaves; sisters, Linda (and Pete) Farrell of Round Pond, and Deborah Scott (and Blake Haskell) of Hull, Mass.; former spouse, Jenny Cleaves of Round Pond, and their four children, Slaid and Karen Cleaves of Wimberley, Tex., Chad and Nicole Cleaves of South Lake Tahoe, Cal., Jeffrey and Kim Cleaves of Mansfield, Tex., and Elizabeth and John Roy of South Portland. He was the proud “Grampa Dood” to five grandchildren, Tommy and Sean Cleaves, Kaelen and Audrey Cleaves, and Madolyn Roy.

Craig considered himself a rich man. His currency was family, friends, colleagues, patients, and the privilege to live in such a beautiful place by the sea. He never took life for granted; every morning he said his “gratitudes.” Craig loved music and dancing and the sea and the woods. He was cherished in life and will always be remembered.