Florence Day

1921 - 2015

Florence Stinchfield Day, 94
WESTBROOK -

Florence Stinchfield Day, 94, passed away peacefully at home on Nov. 10, 2015. She was born March 13, 1921, to Allen H. and Katie Maxim Stinchfield, in Wayne, Maine, where her father ran the general store and was the postmaster. She was the youngest child, and only daughter, with three older brothers, John, Charles, and Roger.
Following her graduation from Winthrop High School in 1938, where she was co-salutatorian, she went on to do a secretarial degree at Westbrook Junior College in Portland (now part of the University of New England). When she finished in 1940, her first job was with Professor George Dow at the University of Maine at Orono, helping him tally the number of chickens in the state. She then got a job at the law firm of Cook, Hutchinson, Pierce & Connell (now Pierce Atwood) in Portland, where she was the secretary to Fred Scribner, Jr., for 11 years. She also worked in the 1980s as personal assistant to former Governor Horace Hildreth.
In 1952 she met and married Russell Day, a chemical engineer at S.D. Warren Co., where her brother John Stinchfield also worked. She and Russ settled in Westbrook, building the family home on Oakland Ave. in 1954, where she lived until her death.
Florence's volunteering over the years included active roles within the Westbrook-Warren Congregational Church, Girl Scouts, Current Events Club, Women's Literary Union, Westbrook Woman's Club, Westbrook Junior College Alumnae Association, Community Health Services, Westbrook Community Hospital, the Portland Chamber Music Society, and, of course, the Westbrook Republican City Committee and Westbrook Women's Republican Club.
Florence was an avid correspondent, remaining in touch with family and friends over the years. She even took to the digital age, embracing the world of email and the Internet when she got her first computer at age 65. Up until the week before her death she daily read two newspapers, got online, and read a library book in anticipation of her weekly book club at the church. Last month she felt a great sense of accomplishment in finishing a memoir of her early life in Wayne, which she wrote for her grandchildren.
Her husband, Russ, passed away in 1989, and their oldest son Ralph in 2003. She is survived by son Gabriel (Howard) Day of Arcata, Calif., daughter Katie Day (Appleton) of Singapore, daughter Peggy Day and son-in-law Jim Johansen of Westbrook, daughter Martha Day of Westbrook; daughter-in-law Robin Kelly Day and granddaughter Meredith Day of Danbury, Conn.; granddaughter Sierra (Day) Gullan and husband Lennie Gullan of Chicago, Ill., grandson Sam Appleton of Santa Barbara, Calif., grandson Max Appleton of Durres, Albania, and granddaughter Maggie Appleton of Prague, Czech Republic.
A memorial service celebrating her life will be held on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 1:00 p.m. at Westbrook-Warren Congregational Church, 810 Main Street, Westbrook.

In lieu of flowers,
donations may be made to:
The Westbrook-Warren Congregational Church
810 Main Street
Westbrook, ME 04092 or:
Carey Memorial Library
7 Old Winthrop Rd
Wayne, ME 04284