George T. Vose ’51 died on October 10, 2018, in Bangor, Maine.
(The following was published in the Bangor Daily News on October 17, 2018):
George Thomas Vose, 89, of Southwest Harbor died peacefully October 10, 2018, at a Bangor healthcare facility. A native of Bangor, George was born May 6, 1929, the son of George A. and Grace (Gallagher) Vose of Bangor. He graduated from Bangor High School in 1947 and from Bowdoin College in 1951, where he was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity and the Meddiebempsters.
A gifted first tenor, George was one of a popular trio from the class of 1947 who entertained regularly at Bangor High School events, while also a starting guard on the high school football team. A scholarship student at Bowdoin College, George was a three-year member of the Meddiebempsters. The augmented eight-person a capella singing group performed at college and public gatherings in Maine and elsewhere. A performance in Washington, DC, lead to an invitation by the USO to join nationally known celebrity entertainers on a two-month 1948 summer tour of European bases. That resulted in a second summer tour in 1949, including the experience of being the first entertainers airlifted into Berlin, defying the Cold War blockade.
Following graduation from Bowdoin College, George worked in sales at General Motors Acceptance Corp, then was a laboratory administrator with Bettinger Corporation in Milford, Mass., engaged in the application of ceramic coatings.
In 1956, he married a former classmate at Bangor High School, Dorothy Curtis. In 1958, Dottie and George invested in a summer cottage “fixer upper” in Southwest Harbor. After relocating to MDI they were blessed with five children their first six years there.
George joined the Jackson Laboratory in 1962 as an administrator in research and training, eventually serving as manager of special projects. He retired in 1991.
They were active in community and church affairs. He served several terms as president of the church council of St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Manset, as president of the Causeway Golf and Kinfolk Paddle Clubs, as a member of the Southwest Harbor Board of Appeals and as a member of the Board of Directors of The Open Door Recovery Center in Ellsworth.
George was particularly grateful for the decision to move to Southwest Harbor with its spectacular beauty, for his loving family, for the innumerable hours of fun and enjoyment at the Causeway and Paddle Clubs and for his participation in the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.
George was predeceased by his beloved life partner of fifty-two years, Dottie; his parents; a brother-in-law, Dr. Mario Ablondi; and a niece, Gretchen Ablondi. He is survived by his five children, Catherine V. Doane and husband Mark of North Fort Myers, Florida; Mary V. Martin and husband Scott of Orrington; Margaret G. Vose of Southwest Harbor; Rachel S. Vose and husband Angus Badger, of Jackson, New Hampshire; and Thomas C. Vose and wife Jennifer of South Portland, Maine. He also is survived by twelve grandchildren, Christopher and Megan Doane, of Fort Myers, Florida; Robert Martin of Tucson, Arizona; Emily Martin of Hampton, Virginia; Alexandra Stanley of Somerville, Mass.; Nicholas Stanley and their father, David A. Stanley, of Southwest Harbor; Malcolm, Nina, Helen and Willem Badger of Jackson, New Hampshire; and Gretchen and T.J. Vose of South Portland. He has a sister, Gretchen Vose Ablondi, of Chestnut Hill, Mass.; a nephew, William Ablondi, of New York City, New York; and a niece Margot Rutledge and husband Brett, of Yarmouth.
George leaves behind lifelong and very special friends from high school, Alan Baker of Orrington, David Getchell of Appleton, and Walter Ulmer of Greensboro, North Carolina, friends who have given him great joy in their friendship and support over his lifetime. George and his family also would like to thank VNA Hancock County Hospice, Dr. Vanessa Little, Dr. Tanya Hanke, Wanda Jewett, and Lynn Higgins for their love and steadfast support of the entire Vose family in the years following Dottie’s death. Without them, George would not have been able to stay in the home he and Dottie so loved.