Goldie Singer, former payroll supervisor in the Bowdoin business office from 1946-1980 and an honorary member of the Bowdoin Alumni Association, died on November 25, 2017, in Brunswick, Maine.

(The following was published in the Press Herald on November 27, 2017:)

BRUNSWICK – Goldie Singer died in Brunswick on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017, at the age of 101. Born on April 6, 1916, in Brunswick, the youngest of six children of Max and Bessie (Gould) Singer, Goldie lived in the family home on Federal Street until 2010, when she moved to the Mid Coast Senior Health Center.

Goldie graduated from Brunswick High School in 1935. She worked in a shoe factory, as a bookkeeper for about a year for Berry’s Egg Farm in Bowdoinham, and for Governor Sewall of Maine during his campaign and became a part-time employee in his office after the election.

During World War II she worked seven days a week at Bath Iron Works in the personnel department. After the war she was hired as the payroll supervisor in the Business Office at Bowdoin College, a position that she held from 1946 until her retirement at the end of 1980. She could be seen riding her bicycle to work every day, even in the winter, and she continued to ride her bicycle well into her 80s. Generations of community residents, students, faculty, and staff treasured Goldie’s friendship, cheerfulness, and efficiency. She was elected an honorary member of the Bowdoin Alumni Association. At the time of her death she was Bowdoin’s oldest retiree.

Goldie’s ability to recall and relate the experiences of her life made her a great source of information on Jewish life in Maine and in the Brunswick area over the past century. She shared her stories for an oral history project for the Jewish Studies Program at Colby College. Her stories about Brunswick over the years have enriched and delighted family, visitors, and caretakers alike. She was a loyal fan of the New England Patriots, and at her 100th birthday party she received a letter from the Patriots, an autographed picture from Tom Brady, and a number “12” Patriots jersey.

A beloved aunt to four generations, Goldie is survived by four nieces, five nephews; 25 grandnieces and grandnephews; 21 great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews; and four great-great-grandnephews.

Goldie’s family and many friends are grateful to the staff at the Mid Coast Senior Health Center and Hospice for their attentive care and for sharing in Goldie’s life these past few years.