Sunday, April 26, 2020
Joe was my favorite cousin. I only made the trip to Maine a half dozen times, but Joe was an integral part of my memories there. He was quick-witted and warm-hearted.
One day, he took my daughter and me out on his boat to search for a place that I remembered from my first visit to Sebec Lake in 1955. Back then, my grandfather, Herbert Hayford, took me to an inlet with huge smooth boulders. They were flat and warm and perfect for lying on. As a child, it was the most magical place I’d ever seen. Anyway, half a century later, Joe readily offered to help me locate it. He drove us all over the lake trying to find the spot. Strangely, I can’t recall if we ever found the exact place my eight-year-old eyes fell in love with, but I remember very clearly how determined and patient Joe was in the search for it. If it was important to me, then it was important to him.
That was a kindness that will stay with me forever.
In the last dozen years, most of our visiting was by phone. He had a great, welcoming voice that I can still hear in my head and in my heart. He brightened my life.
My sincere sympathy to Stephen & Colleen, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Joe was a good man who will be sorely missed.
Bridget Dole
