Obituary of Dr. Marjorie M. Devine
Dover-Foxcroft, ME - Dr. Marjorie M. Devine was born May 19, 1934, in East Machias, ME, the daughter of James and Virginia (Gardner) Mealey, and passed away on January 19, 2017. She attended local schools and was in the last graduating class of the old Foxcroft Academy. She was a lover of school sports, excelling in softball and basketball until an injury prevented her from playing. While at the Academy, she was a recipient of the Rose Award, Kiwanis Good Sportsmanship and Babe Ruth Award. She was later inducted into Foxcroft Academy’s 2016 Academic Hall of Fame. She went on to the University of Maine at Orono where she was elected to the All Maine Women Group and was a member of Home Economics and Student Faculty Relations Committees, graduating in 1956 with a BS in Home Economics.
Marjorie went on to teach Home Economics at East Windsor High School, CT, and Bangor High School, Bangor, ME, from 1958-1962. She received her Master’s Degree in Nutrition from UMO in 1962 and was an instructor on Food and Nutrition there from 1962-1964. She then received her Doctorate in 1967 at Cornell and while there, was an Associate Professor and Coordinator of Undergraduate Program of Nutritional Studies, and Associate Director for Academic Affairs. While at Cornell she received several Fellowships and Assistantships which included Fellow Research Assistant General Foods and a Trainee of the National Institute of Health. Marjorie was also awarded SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching 1977; Danforth Associate, 1980; Distinguished Teaching Award, 1982. Also from Omicron NU and Alumni Association of Human Ecology their Presidential Scholar Award 1987 and Gamma Sigma Delta, Innovative Teaching Award, 1989. She was a past President of the National Nutrition Consortium.
She authored many articles in nutrition in periodicals and was the coauthor of “Dimensions of Food”, a laboratory manual. During her retirement years she enjoyed her camp at Seboeis. She was a skilled woodcarver of the native birds and mammals of the northeastern region.
Marjorie is survived by her sister, Jane M. Macomber and her husband, Bill of Blanchard, ME; her nephews, James L. Macomber and William G. Macomber II, of Dover-Foxcroft, ME; her grand- nephews, William G. Macomber III and Benjamin J. Macomber; and her grand-nieces, Meagan, Crystal, and Virginia Macomber.
A memorial service will be held 2:00pm, Sunday, January 29, 2017, at the Lary Funeral Home, Dover-Foxcroft, ME. Donations rather than flowers can be made to: The Mealey Fund, Thompson Free Library, 186 E. Main St., Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426 or the Jerry Rivers Scholarship Fund, Department of Food and Nutrition, Cornell University, Att: Financial Aid, PO Box 752, Ithaca, NY 14851. Condolences may be expressed at www.laryfuneralhome.com.