John Renwick Linnell

John Renwick Linnell of New Gloucester, Maine and Tucson, Arizona, died suddenly at his home on Wednesday, August 4, 2010. He was 72 years old. Son of Frank and Margaret Linnell, Jack was born in Lewiston and reared and educated in Auburn. After earning a B.A. at University of Maine and a J.D. at Boston University School of Law, he was admitted to practice before the Maine Bar in 1964. Jack spent his professional career at Linnell, Choate and Webber, the firm his father founded in 1931, until commencing an active retirement in 2003. He was a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers and held memberships in The American Board of Trial Advocates, The American College of Legal Medicine, the Maine Trial Lawyers Association and the Maine Bar Foundation. He served as Councilman and Mayor of the City of Auburn (1967-1974). He chaired the state Republican Party for four years and was a Maine delegate to the 1976 national nominating convention. He was a Board Member and Treasurer of the West Auburn School Historical Society, which fully restored the one-room school he attended as a child in West Auburn. In retirement, Jack was a hardworking volunteer, rediscovering a love of aviation through his work with Pima Air & Space Museum in Arizona and with Owls Head Transportation Museum in Maine. He was also an active boater and golfer. Jack, an avid reader of current fiction and political history, spent a decade as one of the "top 1000" reviewers at Amazon.com; his last review was published the day of his death. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Cotheal Linnell, of New Gloucester; son, John E. Linnell (Dennifer), of Auburn; brother, James (Jennifer), of Albuquerque, New Mexico; grandchildren, Kelsey and Colby, of Auburn; stepchildren, Ian Murphy (Amy), of Warwick, New York and Michaela Murphy (Marc Elzweig), of San Francisco, California and step-grandchildren, Tyler and Tori Jenness of Auburn, Declan and Cameron Murphy of Warwick, and Calvin Elzweig of San Francisco. Linnell died in New Gloucester August 4, 2010. Jack R. age 72. A Memorial Visitation will be held from the Chapel of DILLINGHAM & SON, Tuesday, August 10, 2010 from 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. The Memorial Service will be Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at 11:00 a.m., at St. Michael's Episcopal Parish in Auburn. A private burial will be held at the family's convenience. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Jack's name to the Pima Air & Space Museum, 6000 East Valencia Road, Tucson, Arizona, 85756-9403. Arrangements by DILLINGHAM & SON MEMORIAL CHAPEL AND TRIBUTE CENTER, 62 Spring Street, Auburn, Maine 04210, 784-6449.