Lou McGillicuddy

Lou McGillicuddy

1925 – 2018

Scarborough - Lou McGillicuddy went to eternity on Oct. 9, 2018. Lou described himself as a two time winner, having found love twice in his life and will now join Margaret (Montgomery) McGillicuddy and Dina (St. Peter) McGillicuddy in heaven. Lou was born June 6, 1925, the third of 6 children, to William and Margaret (Collins) McGillicuddy at Skiff Lake in Canterbury, New Brunswick, Canada.

Lou was a loving, humble, faith-filled, patient and generous man. Like his father before him, he was an avid storyteller and one of the great joys of his life was to be surrounded by family talking about things his father used to repeat, or stories of his own childhood. One of the biggest events in Lou's life occurred during what he described as the "grand exodus" in Nov. 1934 (the event was preceded by a fire that destroyed the family home). At the age of 9, he was responsible for driving a two-horse drawn wagon 25 miles away on a dirt road to help his father and brother lead the cattle to the family's new home in Woodstock, New Brunswick.

Lou graduated from Woodstock High School in 1942 and went to work for Canada Packers as a clerk for a brief time before returning to the family farm to help during World War II. Lou reported "farmers had to feed the military". As the story goes, Lou thought his father tried to make it a little easier for him to be on the farm by purchasing a tractor for Lou to operate. Until then, all the plowing had been done manually with horses, and Lou's father felt he could plow a field better than his son. Lou thought driving the tractor was a lot of fun and was bemused to see his father "eat crow" when he proved him wrong!

Once the war was over, Lou was "bonded" by his cousin Paul McGillicuddy which allowed him to come to the US from Canada to live and work. During that time, he began working for the A&P in Houlton, as a stock person. Later, he would become in charge of the Coffee Department to which he believed was a "made up thing to make a young person feel good". His humility would not let him believe that someone would think highly enough of him to put him in charge of the coffee. In 1947 he married Margaret Montgomery, from Millinocket. Lou continued to work for A&P after the Houlton store burned and moved his family to Presque Isle so that he could participate in managing the Presque Isle and Limestone stores.

Lou and his family left Aroostook County in 1954 and moved to Millinocket, where Lou began working for Great Northern Paper Company (GNP). He started out as a carpenter's helper and learned everything he needed to know to build a house for his family in the "new development" area of Millinocket. Lou was talented and enormously proud of being a papermaker and working for GNP for 30 years.

Lou was a devout Catholic. He was comforted by his daily bible readings late into his life. In addition, Lou was an active man. He exercised regularly, whether it be biking, cross country skiing, and walking, which he continued to do even at age 93, walking outside the Cedars Retirement Community in the summer, and the halls of the Cedars Retirement Community in the winter.

Lou is survived by his four children, Joanne McGillicuddy of Bridgeport, Conn. and her husband J. Stephen Penna, Dan McGillicuddy of Millinocket, Jane McGillicuddy of Scarborough and her husband Carlo Giraulo, Mary McGillicuddy of Portland and her husband David Jacobs, who was like a son to Lou. Lou is also survived by three grandchildren, Kyle McGillicuddy-Penna, Derek McGillicuddy, and Jared McGillicuddy; his sister, Josephine Curry of Houlton; three stepchildren, Maureen McGillicuddy Barden, Michael McGillicuddy, and Joe McGillicuddy; three step grandchildren, Alexandra and Caleb Barden, and Matthew McGillicuddy. Lou was proud to have become a great-grandfather to twins, Thomas Daniel McGillicuddy and Clara Marie McGillicuddy in June. He is also survived by two sisters-in law, Joanne Vaughn McGillicuddy of Oakville, Ontario, Canada and Elaine McGillicuddy of Portland; and several nieces and nephews.

The McGillicuddy Family would like to thank all of the staff at The Osher Inn for keeping their Dad safe and secure while he resided there. The family also wishes to acknowledge the compassionate care provided by staff at the Cedars Nursing Care Center during the last days of his life on this earth. Finally, the family appreciates the responsive, kind and supportive care provided by the Hospice team from Northern Light Home Care and Hospice.

Per his wishes, there will be no visiting hours. A Mass of Christian Burial for Lou will be celebrated at 11 a.m., Friday, Oct. 12, at St. Martin of Tours Church, 19 Colby Street, Millinocket, Maine. Burial will follow in Millinocket Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of the Conroy-Tully Walker South Portland Chapel, 1024 Broadway, South Portland, Maine.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Lou's memory to Northern Light Home Care and Hospice, 50 Foden Road, Suite 1, South Portland, Maine; or Alzheimer's Association, 383 U.S. Route 1, Suite 2C, Scarborough, Maine 04074