David E. Briggs, 79, passed away on July 12, 2018 after a short stay (21 hours) at Gosnell Hospice House in Scarborough. He was surrounded by family and friends at the time of his passing. David was born September 3, 1938 in Lewiston Maine, the son of Erlon and Melvena (Tourigny) Briggs.
At the age of 10, the family moved to South Portland. He attended local schools in South Portland excelling in both basketball and football before graduating in 1957. After graduation, David attended University of Maine in Portland graduating with an Associates Degree in Business Administration.
He then joined the Army as a Cryptographer from 1960-1962 stationed in Fort Totten NY. It was in New York, David met his beautiful wife of 54 years, Patricia “Patti” (Coville). He began his career working at Dun and Bradstreet in New York but after 5 years longed to get back to Maine.
So, they packed up the family and moved “home”. It is at this time David started what would be a long and distinguished working career at Central Maine Power Company. For the next 30 years, David held a variety of positions and lived in several towns (Augusta, Brunswick, and Rumford) throughout the state before culminating his work career in Biddeford as Southern Regional Director, retiring in 1997.
Throughout his working career David had participated on the Southern Maine Medical Center, Salvation Army, and Biddeford & Saco Water District boards of directors. He was a past president of Rotary where he won the prestigious Paul Harris Award for service. In addition, he was an active member of Chamber of Commerce, Elks Club, and a 33 degree Mason.
David was an avid golfer throughout his life (a long time member at Biddeford Saco Country Club), sports enthusiast (hunting and fishing), and a huge Patriots and Celtics fan. He loved his time at “camp” and enjoyed leaving the Maine winter for the house in Fort Myers FL for the past 18 years. We all have our faults – his flaw was he was a Yankees fan!
And we reminded him of that on a regular basis! “Pappy” as he was affectionately known by many, was a fixture on the sidelines, at courts, fields, or track events watching first his two kids – Donald and Heather (Hart); then later his five grandchildren – Ashley and Joshua Briggs (Scarborough) and Corey, Andre, and Alexandra Hart (Saco). More importantly he became the “rock” of our family with patience, guidance, feedback, a pat on the back, or a kick in the pants.
His family meant everything to him and we were all fortunate to live within a few miles of each other. His wife Patti did a tremendous job using her life-long nursing career and caregiver “heart” which allowed him to stay at home the entire time. What a gift!
David is survived by two sisters Sandra (Briggs) Plummer and her husband Elmer “Sonny” of Gorham, ME, Linda (Briggs) Fallona and her husband John of Scarborough, ME. He was predeceased by a third sister Carole (Briggs) Valliere of Portland, ME. We would like to thank the incredibly giving and supportive staff at Gosnell Hospice House specifically Sue Basford and Tina Gilpatrick for their positive attitude and enthusiasm.
In lieu of flowers, the family would like to honor David’s wishes with a donation to either Shriners Hospital and/or St. Jude’s Hospital. We appreciate your consideration. A Wake and Funeral Service will be held at Hope Memorial Chapel 480 Elm Street Biddeford ME on July 26, 2018 from 4:00-6:00pm.
A celebration of life gathering will be held at the Dunegrass Country Club 200 Wild Dunes Way Old Orchard Beach ME 04064 beginning at 6:30pm, where we hope you can join his family to share stories and appreciate a life of touching lives. Donations may be made to: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital P.O. Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis TN 38101-9908 Tel: 1-800-805-5856 Web: www.
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