Elizabeth Sherman (Betty) Wildes passed away peacefully on November 1, 2018, age 85, in the company of her family. Betty was born January 23, 1933 in Newport, RI, the oldest of three children of Catharine (Hughes) and I. Thornton Sherman. She grew up on Long Acres Farm, Middletown RI, which had been in the Sherman family for several generations.
Betty was very active in 4-H. She met Glenn, her future husband, at the Newport County 4-H awards banquet in January 1950. Betty went to Bates College, majoring in math; Glenn attended the University of Rhode Island.
They wrote daily letters, and Glenn would hitch-hike six hours each way to visit Betty for frequent weekends. After graduation in 1954, Betty went to work as a “computer” doing data analysis at MIT. In April 1955 they married, and Betty joined Glenn at URI where she worked in the Dean’s office of the Home Economics College.
In 1959, they moved to Sanford, Maine, where they raised three sons and lived for 55 years. Betty was a dedicated mother and homemaker. When the boys entered school, she took on increasing responsibilities in the community, including: North Parish Congregational Church committees, trustee, and financial secretary; Wilson Lake Assoc.
board; Maine Holstein Futurity secretary-treasurer; York Co. Soil Conservation Service office manager; 4-H club leader; and partner with Glenn in a livestock fencing business for 6 years. In 2014 they moved from Sanford to OceanView at Falmouth. Betty is remembered as a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother; for her love of cooking, her extensive flower gardens, her sewing, her meticulous record-keeping and financial management, and the love and support she provided to family and friends all her life.
Many wooden stools, chairs, trays, boxes, etc. with Betty’s stenciled and hand-painted designs remain family treasures. Betty is survived by Glenn, her husband of 63 years; their three sons, Douglas (+ Julia Nalwalk), Bruce (+ Nancy Seamans), David (+ Sandra Dague); their eight grandchildren, Nate, Sarah, Alex, Rebecca, Connor, Kait, Christopher, Ethan; her sister, Diana Luth; and cousins, nephews, nieces, extended family, and many friends.
Glenn and the family are very grateful to the staff of Sedgewood Commons, Compassus Hospice, OceanView at Falmouth, the Stewart Center, and CareTree Healthcare for the care that they provided for Betty. A memorial service will be held at the Congregational Church in Cumberland, ME at 1:00 PM on Saturday, December 29. In lieu of flowers, donations in Betty’s memory may be made to the Landscape Fund at the Congregational Church in Cumberland, PO Box 247, Cumberland, ME 04021 or to the Abiding Memorial Fund at the North Parish Congregational Church, 895 Main St, Sanford, ME 04073.
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