Phyllis Burtchell

Obituary of Phyllis M. Burtchell

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Dover-Foxcroft – Phyllis Marie (Libby) Burtchell, 86, passed away May 4, 2020, peacefully with her son by her side at Seaport Village, Ellsworth. Phyllis was born March 28, 1934, in Guilford, to Marguerite Sanborn and Leo Libby. She grew up with her siblings, Leo “Jack”, Hunk, and her surviving sister, Beverly Bates of Silver Mills. Her father, Leo Libby, passed away in 1943 at age 59. Then her mother married Bun Moulton, eventually adding three more brothers, Wayne, Skeet, and Larry Moulton. As a young girl in Guilford, she walked to her first job at the Hardwood Products Toothpick Mill near her home. She graduated from Guilford High School in 1952. She met and married Elwin “Tinker” Pearly Burtchell of Dover-Foxcroft, after his three year tour of duty in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborn division. They had five children: first came identical twins, Roxanne and Diane (stillborn) in 1954, then Kenneth E. Burtchell in 1956, William “Bill” K. Burtchell in 1960, and Vickie L. Burtchell in 1962. While residing on South Street in Dover-Foxcroft, Phyllis and Tinker purchased South Street Market, two houses down. Phyllis managed the store for fourteen years. She enjoyed meeting many different people and making new friends at the market. She continued after her divorce from Tinker in 1972, while continuing to raise her children and a granddaughter. In 1980, Phyllis sold the store and started a new career as a Certified Nurse’s Aide at Hibbard Nursing Home, Dover-Foxcroft. Phyllis also trained to be a med cart nurse but her heart was with caring for the residents in person. She would set up elaborate midnight tea parties with the older lady residents and also cared for her own mother, Marguerite Moulton, there, until she passed. Phyllis retired from Hibbard Nursing Home at age 73 and took up knitting scrubbies, dolls, dish cloths and more. She did many crafts, and loved painting her little house, mowing her lawn, collecting fiddle heads in the spring and cooking dandelion greens. She adored sitting on her sun porch, and picnics with her grandchildren, who savored fishing in the brook below her land. She took her grandchildren on long walks in the Enchanted Forest in Dover-Foxcroft, and for trips on the Katahdin on Moosehead Lake for a treat. She was always family focused, and famous for her decorative birthdays, and holidays, delivering sticky popcorn balls and large bags full of presents at Christmas, always decked out in her high heels. She attended every child and grandchild’s graduation, wedding, and special celebrations. Phyllis was always up for an adventure and enjoyed a few trips along the way. She and Tinker drove to California with their young children to visit his sister and her family. She flew to Oklahoma, Florida, and the Bahamas to visit family. Over her many years on South Street, Phyllis’s door was always open to anyone in need in her vast family and group of friends. After her retirement from Hibbard Nursing Home she could be seen sporting around in her little cream colored Mazda convertible, top up or down – she always looked good! Phyllis was predeceased by her father, mother, several brothers, her three daughters, and son, Bill. She is survived by her son, Kenneth and his wife, Victoria, of Ellsworth; 4 grandchildren, Mandy Cuss and her husband, James, Jacob Burtchell and his wife, Taryn, Haley Carmichael and her husband, Stephen, and David Burtchell and his partner, Amanda Gelina. She is also survived by ten great grandchildren, Eva, Penelope, and Anna Cuss; Lauren, Liam and Amelia Burtchell; Malia and Oceana Carmichael; and Heidi and Victor Burtchell. A simple family gathering will be held later this summer. Ken wishes to thank several of the hospice nurses and the staff at Seaport who took great care of Phyllis. Memorial contributions may be made to Beacon Hospice, 289 State Street, Suite 2, Bangor, ME 04401. Arrangements are in the care of the Lary Funeral Home. Condolences and memories may be expressed at www.laryfuneralhome.com.

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Phyllis Burtchell

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Phyllis Burtchell

1934 - 2020

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