Marie Anne Zientara

AUGUSTA -- Marie Anne Zientara, 85, formerly of Civic Center Drive, died peacefully Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007, from complications of Alzheimer's disease, at MaineGeneral Rehabilitation and Nursing Care at Glenridge, with her daughter by her side.

Anne fought a long battle against a formidable illness with great courage and humor.

She was born in Hamlin Plantation on Oct. 16, 1921, the daughter of the late John and Marguerite (St. Amand) Roy.

Anne was a communicant of St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church and a member of the St. Agnes Circle Daughters of Isabella, the Cecilia Club and the Nature Club.

Anne was an excellent student who graduated from St. Augustine's School and attended Cony High School for only a few months. In spite of her limited formal education, Anne was a lifelong learner who always enjoyed discussing the topics of the day, as well as philosophical issues.

On May 20, 1940, Anne married Walter "Wally" Zientara, with whom she raised three children.

Anne and Wally shared a desire to help those less fortunate than themselves. In the 1960s, Anne did volunteer work in several capacities at the former Oblate Retreat House, St. Paul's Center. In the 1970s, she and Wally were invited by the late Fr. Jules Guy, an Oblate priest, to volunteer at the former Augusta Mental Health Institute, wheeling geriatric patients to and from chapel services every Sunday. For their 10 years of doing this work, they received AMHI's Special Services Award for Continuous Service in 1979.

Also in the 1970s, Anne worked as a dispatcher and a meter maid for the Augusta Police Department, retiring in 1979. After her retirement, which coincided with Walter's from Central Maine Power Co., Anne and Wally spent two years in Papeete, Tahiti, as Catholic missionaries with their wonderful Oblate friend, Fr. Guy.

While Wally did construction, repairs, plumbing and electrical wiring work in Fr. Guy's parish, Anne taught English to native Tahitians, both children and adults.

Besides her grand adventure in Tahiti, Anne traveled to many other places over the years, including Hawaii, the Holy Land, along the Eastern Seaboard to Florida, and numerous visits to see her children and grandchildren in California, Kentucky and Massachusetts.

Anne was a beautiful woman with a great sense of style who possessed many natural talents, such as dancing, singing and story-telling. But perhaps her most charming characteristic was her ability to laugh at herself, an attribute that made her a lot of fun to be around. Anne also had the ability to make other people laugh, which she exercised at every possible opportunity.

Anne was predeceased by her husband, Walter, and all of her siblings: Martha Ayotte, Anna Labbe, Yvonne Bonenfant, Laura Thibodeau, Rose Jackson, Edmond Roy, Simon Roy and John Roy.

She is survived by her three children, Gerald Roy Zientara of San Francisco, Lorie Anne Zientara of Augusta and Marguerite Yvonne Lessard and her husband, Paul, of Belgrade; grandchildren Dena Thompson, Joshua Potter and Adam Potter, and step-grandchildren Amanda Lessard and Alex Lessard; sister-in-law Shirley Fuller Roy of West Gardiner; and several nieces and nephews.

A gathering of family and friends will be held on Thursday, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at Plummer Funeral Home, 16 Pleasant St., Augusta. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Friday at 11 a.m. at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, Western Avenue, Augusta.

Burial will be in the spring at Holy Family Cemetery, Townsend Road, Augusta.

Those who desire may make memorial donations to MaineGeneral Rehabilitation and Nursing Care at Glenridge, 40 Glenridge Drive, Augusta, ME, 04330.

Anne's children would like to thank the extraordinary staff members at Glenridge for the unfailing kindness, compassion, love, respect and sense of fun shown toward our mother during her time there.

Condolences to the family may be expressed via the funeral home Web site at http://www.plummerfh.com