Thomas H. Grace Jr.

Thomas H. Grace Jr., 84

SCARBOROUGH - Thomas H. Grace Jr., 84, of Westbrook, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018, after a five-year battle with cancer.

Tom was born in Quincy, Mass., the son of Yvonne Rose Thibodeau and Thomas H. Grace, Sr. He grew up in Rumford, where he attended Rumford schools and graduated from Mexico High School in 1952.

He married Joann Mersereau in 1954, with whom he had four children. After winterizing his Higgins Beach cottage in 1977, he and his family moved from Rumford to Scarborough, and he lived in the greater Portland area in the years that followed.

He married Lorraine Arsenault in 1999.

He worked as a paper mill machinist for most of his adult life, retiring from two paper mills, Oxford Paper in 1977 and S. D. Warren in 1993.

Tom will be remembered for his terrific sense of humor and his love of sports. While living in the Rumford area, he taught skiing at Scotties Mountain and Black Mountain and was an Assistant Ski Coach at Rumford High School. He was also a member of the Spring Meadows Golf Club in Gray for several years and participated in many golf leagues.

He also enjoyed hunting, fishing, and softball -- playing in mill softball leagues until he was 60 years old. Tom was also a member of the Rumford Lodge of Elks # 862 and a lifetime member of the AARP.

Tom was predeceased by his parents; and a brother, Fred.

He is survived by his wife Lorraine, of Westbrook; four children, Susan Grace, of Rumford; Thomas Grace and wife Cheryl, of Okeechobee, Fla.; Carolyn Hastings and husband Randy, of Farmington; and Jane Howrilka and husband Mike, of South Portland; three stepchildren, Cathy Lynch and husband Mike, of Mendon, Mass.; Mike Arsenault, of Westbrook; and Kim Plummer and husband Cory, of Gray; two brothers; six grandchildren, six stepgrandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at noon Friday, Jan. 12, 2018, at the Parish of the Holy Savior, St. Athanasius - St. John Church, 126 Maine Ave., Rumford, Maine. Interment in the spring will be at the Rumford Center Cemetery, Rumford Center, Maine. Friends are invited to call from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Friday prior to the funeral at the MEADER & SON FUNERAL HOME, 3 Franklin Street, P. O. Box 537, Rumford, Maine 04276. Friends are invited to sign the family guest book and share their thoughts, condolences and fond memories online at www.meaderandson.com.