Robert E. "Flymaker" Thorne

Robert E. 'Flymaker' Thorne, 80

STEEP FALLS - Robert E. 'Flymaker' Thorne, 80, of 520 Pequawket Trail, died Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at his home in Steep Falls.

Bob was born in Westbrook on Oct. 5, 1924, a son of Perley and Vera Weymouth Thorne and attended Cornish schools.

After school, he worked on his stepfather, Myron Perry's dairy farm. He also worked as a carpenter and assisted in the raising of many buildings and homes in the Westbrook area.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army on March 17, 1945, and was part of the HQ 140th Chemical Warfare General Services Company. He received training at Camp Wheeler, GA., and then at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland. He was shipped to LaHarve, France to begin active duty and then on to Languard, Germany to the Chemical Gas Depot. He was awarded the Army of Occupation Medal and the World War II Victory Medal and rose the the rank of corporal. While overseas, he helped break saddle horses for the Army's Calvary Division. He was the only farm boy in the unit! He was discharged Oct. 21, 1946.

Before he had gone overseas, he married his high school sweetheart, Marjorie Merrill of Buxton, on Sept. 5, 1945. They resided on a 300-acre farm at the end of Pine Street in Kezar Falls. The farm was lovingly known as 'Pick a Rock a Two.'

His logging expertise took him throughout Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and he started a business to repair power saws for others. He raised poultry for Frank Purdue, logged in the woods with horses, and worked nights at the Kezar Falls Woolen Mill.

He was proud of his horses and competed with them at local fairs. His matched pair of Red Roans were even the area champs one year. He later hauled eggs for First National.

He and Marjorie had to leave the farm in 1947 because of the Great Fire. All the birds and animals were moved to his in-laws in Buxton for safety. He then helped fight the fire with the area locals. His farm was one of the few spared in the area.

He was an avid sportsman, played horseshoes, and water surfed behind motorboats. He excelled in hunting and fishing, both fresh- and saltwater. He was one of the top hunters in the area. In 1951, he tagged a 313 lb. 12-point buck, which rated #4 in the state for the first annual publication of Maine Antler and Skull Trophy Club in 1979.

In 1963, he moved his family to Standish where he built a home and two ponds as well as outbuildings himself. He continued to log in the woods, but now with bulldozers and a small crew. When he gave up logging, he went to work for Winn Smith at Limington Lumber Co. He worked as a scaler and was there for seven years.

He also had a bait shop/tackle shop business known as Sebago Fly Shop which was in business for over 30 years. He was well known for his fly-tying expertise and designed and patented 11 flies throughout his life, the last being the 'Miss Julie,' which was great for salmon and trout. He made friends far and wide because of his flies and received orders from all over the U.S. and Canada.

Bob was also a Licenced Maine Guide. He guided fishing parties on Sebago Lake for Goodwin's Lodge with a boat called 'Julie Dawn.' In 1974, he broke the record that still stands for the largest Atlantic salmon. He caught the fish in Labrador, Canada and it weighed 28 pounds, was 40 inches long, and had a gert of 29 inches. The fish was caught with one of his own flies. He loved to fish Moosehead and Sebago lakes, and especially loved fishing in Labrador and Quebec. He was also instrumental in the re-stocking of Atlantic salmon in the Saco River. He worked closely and was well respected by Maine biologists and game wardens. He even made and named a fly for 'Warden Curtis' in 1968.

In 1982, he harvested the timber from his own property with the aid of a pair of Oxen owned by his daughter. He worked actively at home and even after being told he had emphysema, he proceeded to split and sell firewood in excess of 100 cord per year. His love of life and the outdoors was shown in his care of wildlife. Along with feeding deer on his property, he had in excess of 100 mallard and black ducks that he fed. The ducks would come right up to the door and a few times, ducklings walked right into the fly shop. Even in his last few years when his health was failing, he always had time to answer questions for sportsman, especially the kids. He said, 'they were our future.'

His family was everything to him and was always a devoted husband and father. On Aug. 9, 2001, he received his 50-year pin for his active membership in, Costello Tribe #34 of the Improved Order of Redmen. He had risen to the highest rank of sachem.

He was predeceased by his wife of 59 years, Marjorie Thorne, who just died in June of this year; also by a son, Dana Robert Thorne, and a brother, Earl Thorne.

Surviving are his loving daughter, Julie Giles of Limington; his mother-in-law, Bessie Merrill of Portland; and a loving cousin, Rodney Herrick of Montana.

A memorial graveside service will be held on Sunday, July 31, at 1 p.m., at Riverside Cemetery in Cornish. Pastor Jim Key will officiate.

Arrangements are by York Funeral Chapel in Cornish.

Robert E. Thorne