Marie Milsop

Marie (Norton) Milsop 1942 – 2025 Marie Norton Milsop, 82, passed away on January 21, 2025 following a period of declining health. She was born on May 11, 1942 to Marion (Bailey) and David Norton. Her children and grandchildren gathered recently to shed tears, reflect on her life, and remember the good times. All agreed she was the matriarch of her world. Should a movie of her life be made, it would be named Marie in Charge. A country girl at heart, Marie grew up on a farm on Pride Street in Westbrook. Following graduation from Westbrook High School in 1960 she worked as a switchboard operator at New England Telephone where she experienced one of the most memorable moments of her life by placing a call for John F. Kennedy during his visit to Portland in 1962. Marie took great pride in those early career years as she supported herself and pursued her dreams and interests, like the blue 1962 Chevy Nova convertible which often carried co-workers and friends to either a golf course, a beach, or the lake. Marie married in 1967. Her fiancé, a member of the U.S. Army, learned that his next assignment was imminent, so a speedy wedding and reception was planned in the front yard of the family farm. It caused Marie to feel compelled to hastily notify friends and neighbors that it was not a “shotgun wedding.” Her husband’s military service kept him away from the family most of the time. Marie built a home on Land of Nod Road where she raised three children by herself. It was during this time that she also began building a family and a neighborhood culture. She would grow and preserve her own food (cellar shelves lined with Mason jars), split and piled firewood, and established chores and firm rules for the children (her son, Edward, once said, “Sometimes you needed permission to breathe,”). At mealtime, “I’m no short order cook, you’ll eat what you’re served.” However, despite (or perhaps because of) a firm upbringing, the children were trusted to behave and make good decisions. “We were “free range” kids riding our bikes all over the neighborhood, and that was okay,” according to daughter Jen. Later, that would change slightly; grandchildren Megan and Mathew observed, “Grammy let us do things our parents wouldn’t let us do.” Never one to sit still for long, Marie reentered the workforce when her children were older. She did office work, became an in-home senior aide worker, and was the proprietor of Town Line Variety Store in Windham/Westbrook. Friends and relatives have noted that she rarely worked at a job, but rather immersed herself in it. Since the 1970s, one family tradition has held firm: Sundays at the lake. Stories abound around the good times at the cottage on Little Sebago: outdoor and indoor games, swimming, water skiing, sailing, and diving and jumping off a diving board built onto a raft. Marie was a funloving participant in all the activities. Marie’s priorities were family, friends, and neighborhood in that order. Said daughter Jen, “The table always had room for one more.” Friends and “the village” knew they could rely on Marie for anything. Marie would be right in the middle of events, parties, and fund-raisers taking place in the Land of Nod neighborhood. In addition, she never missed participation in organizing her high school reunions. Marie’s favorite photograph taken on Sturdevant Island in Casco Bay and displayed prominently in her home of fifty years in Windham shows four family members: Marie, her mother Marion, daughter Jen, and granddaughter Megan – four of twelve generations that hailed from Maine. Amid all talk of the good times, one tradition that was uniquely Marie was her Christmas cookies. At least four families agreed that no other cookie tasted quite like Marie’s tasty delight. But they’re not gone forever. Daughter Vickie has baked the annual delicacy with her mother many times. “Oh yes, I know the recipe (for the cookie) and the frosting. I plan to keep the tradition going.” It will be a welcome and delicious reminder of the lady who was so special to so many. Marie is predeceased by her brother-in-law Phil Grondin. She is survived by sister Rita Breton and her husband Russ of Scarborough, sister Bette Grondin of Yarmouth, and brother David Norton and his wife Joanne (Marston) of Baltimore, Maryland, and by many nieces and nephews. Marie loved her flower gardens, all perennials. She requested that in lieu of flowers a donation can be made to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. “Please don’t waste money on flowers that will die. Instead, invest in the future of flowers.” A recent post on Facebook post announcing her passing described Marie Milsop accurately and succinctly in few words: an incredible woman and a proud Mainer. Services will be scheduled at a future date.

Marie Milsop

May 11, 1942 - January 21, 2025

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