Timothy Stuart Ladd

HALLOWELL -- Timothy Stuart Ladd, 59, well-known central Maine mechanical contractor, died Monday morning, July 9, 2007, from injuries suffered in a plane crash in Tyringham, Mass.

Because of his gift as a tugboat consultant and locomotive expert, as well as being an experienced pilot, he was known as "the plane, train and boat man." At the time of his death, he was enroute from Wiscasset to Hudson, N.Y., to assess work on a tugboat for his good friend, Gregg Hartley, who also died in Monday's accident.

In addition to Ladd's consulting, he was employed as a signal engineer by Maine Eastern Railroad, Rockland.

As one of his friends commented Tuesday, "Tim was into big things that moved: tugboats and locomotives, as well as float planes and tail-draggers..." He looked at the world from a mechanical viewpoint and was the "man on call" to help any friend or neighbor with a plumbing, electrical, construction or mechanical problem.

Ladd lived life to the fullest. He was a flyer, an avid hunter, a fly fisherman, a writer, and a skier -- passions he enjoyed with his three sons, Brooks, Spencer and Arthur. On the soft side, Tim was a balloon deliverer -- always carrying a helium tank, a bag of balloons and string in the back of his pickup truck for cheerups of friends, or for special occasions. He cared deeply for the people he loved and kept in touch with them regularly.

Before moving to Hallowell, Ladd was a resident of Canaan for more than two decades. More recently, Tim and his companion, Jennifer McGowan, have spent a great deal of time in Stratton refurbishing an old farmhouse and skiing Sugarloaf and kayaking the area rivers.

His work experience had been varied. At one time, he was vice president of Flats Industrial Railroad of Cleveland, Ohio. Other railroad work included stints with the Maine Central and Guilford companies. He also was a consultant to tugboat owners Arthur Fournier and Elliot Winslow.

Tim Ladd was born on Nov. 1, 1947, in Waterville, the son of Blaine and Madelyn Brown Ladd, who survive him. He was an Eagle Scout and was a 1966 graduate of Oakland High School, where he was active in skiing, music and theater. He attended both Unity College and the University of Denver in Colorado and served in the U.S. Army, stationed in Germany.

In addition to his parents, Blaine and Madelyn, of Oakland, and his companion, Jennifer McGowan, of Hallowell, he is survived by a sister, Kathaleen Ladd Turner and her husband, Glenn Turner; three sons, Brooks and his wife, Danielle, of Chelmsford, Mass., Spencer and his wife, Li, of Canaan, Arthur, of Hawaii, and their mother, Corda Kinzie; four grandsons, Mackenzie, Roland, Nathan and Matthew; two nieces, Kristin Turner Cronkite of Augusta and Melanie Turner of Farmingdale; a cousin who was like a brother to him, Brooks Hurley and his wife, Linda, of Anchorage, Alaska; and several aunts, uncles and cousins.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, July 16, at Lawry Brothers Funeral Home, Route 137, Winslow. A celebration of Tim's life will be held at 1:30 p.m. at the farmhouse, 9 Rangeley Road, Stratton. Transportation will be provided.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to your local food bank in Tim's memory, or to the MS Regatta, c/o Maine Chapter MS Society, 170 US Route 1, Suite 200, Falmouth, ME04105, in memory of Tim Ladd.

Condolences may be expressed at www.lawrybrothers.com