Obituary of Hartley M. Peakes

Ebeemee Township, ME - Hartley Morrill Peakes, 82, educator, of Ebeemee Lake, Piscataquis County, Maine, and St. Petersburg, Florida, passed away September 21, 2017, of natural causes., at his home. He was born October 22, 1934, in Cambridge, MA, the son of Morris M. and Eva L. (Morrill) Blumenthal.

             A 1959 graduate of the University of Maine at Orono, Hartley was president of the Sigma Nu fraternity. The early part of his career was spent teaching American history and coaching track and field in Massachusetts at Saugus High School. He retired as head of the social studies department after 22 years at Andover High School where he also taught American history and psychology and started the Ecology Club. He was a keen observer of culture and a lifelong activist for environmental and political causes, participating in antiwar demonstrations, Earth Day rallies, and get-out-the-vote efforts. In retirement, Hartley put his appreciation for history and love of nature to use by acting as a ghost walker at the Koreshan State Historic Site in Estero, Florida. Hartley was a snowbird who enjoyed the warmth of Florida during the winter months but was most at home on Ebeemee Lake, where he spent almost every summer of his life, many of them without electricity. He was glad when power was installed in the late 1990s because it meant he could finally watch the Boston Red Sox on television. 

             He is remembered with love by his children; daughter, Lisa and her husband, William Garamella, of St. Petersburg, Florida; son, Gary and his wife, Lynn, of Pittsford, New York: and son, David of Martinez, California. He will be missed by granddaughter, Lauren; grandson, Dorsey; half-sister, Lise Blumenthal of Summerland, California; Harriet Joan Peakes of Lakeland, Florida to whom he was married for 36 years; and numerous friends. A private memorial will take place at a date to be determined.  Arrangements are in the care of the Lary Funeral Home, Milo, ME. Condolences may be expressed at www.laryfuneralhome.com.