Roger Benedict Gorham

NORTH CAROLINA-
Roger Benedict Gorham died on January 27th at Carol Woods Retirement Community, Chapel Hill. N.C. He was born in Newton, MA August 27th, 1925, the son of Thomas and Margaret Benedict Gorham. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1944 and from Harvard College in 1950. He served with the U.S. Army in Europe in World War II. In 1949, he married Nancy Baldwin, daughter of Robert and Frances Baldwin of Belmont and Boston, MA. She died March 23rd, 2016 after 67 years of a happy marriage.
Mr. Gorham was Assistant Treasurer for Bates Manufacturing Company in Lewiston, ME, and also worked for Dewey and Almy Chemical Company in Cambridge, MA. He was a property and casualty insurance underwriter and treasurer for Campbell, Payson, and Noyes in Portland, ME, retiring in 1982 after 24 years. He served on governor's task forces for workers' compensation and medical malpractice, and was the first chairman of the Maine Medical and Hospital Joint Underwriting Association established by the legislature to provide insurance availability.
Mr. Gorham had a lifelong interest in the environment and natural history and, following his retirement from business, he joined Maine Audubon Society as business manager for two years. He led field trips at Audubon's Scarborough Marsh Nature Center and gave talks to many groups on salt marsh ecology. As a volunteer, he taught 6th grade science in the public schools for five years in Cape Elizabeth and eight more years in Scarborough. As a result of his volunteer work in education, he was named President George H.W. Bush's 103rd Point of Light in 1990 and received the Jefferson Award for public service in 1991.
Mr. Gorham was active on many boards, serving as treasurer of the Portland Society of Art, chairman of the budget committee of United Way, treasurer of Campfire Hitinowa Council, president of the Community Counseling Center, and a director of the Scarborough Public Library. He was a member of the building committee for Scarborough's new middle school and a chef for a number of years for the Wayside Evening Soup Kitchen.
He is predeceased by his wife of 67 years Nancy B. Gorham, his daughter Deborah G. Soule of Tuscon, AZ, and his son-in-law F. William Schweke II of Carrboro, N.C. He leaves two daughters, Anne G. Bodfish (David) of South Portland Maine and Lucy S. Gorham of Carrboro, N.C., and son-in-law John Soule of Tuscon, AZ. He also leaves three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Memorial contributions can be made to the Natural Resources Council of Maine.