Marlene Kinlin

Marlene Kinlin of Jonesport, ME passed away on Monday, March 2, 2020. She was 88 years old.
Marlene was raised in Kansas City, Missouri. She moved to the Boston area and attended Wellesley College, graduating in 1953 with a B.A. in English Literature. In 1955 she married Francis Sargent Kinlin. Marlene and Sarge raised three boys in Wrentham, MA and kept a home there until their retirement when they moved to Jonesport in 1994. The couple was married 40 years before Sarge passed away less than a year after settling full time into their new Jonesport home.
Marlene stayed in Jonesport 25 more years until her passing. While there, she participated in several book clubs, took on-going continuing education classes at the University of Maine at Machias and participated for several years in the Senior College. She also kept the beautiful home she and Sarge built that looked over a great expanse of the Atlantic Ocean on Kelly Point, about a mile outside the Jonesport town center.
She had a great love and knowledge of American and English literature and was an avid reader up to and including the last day of her life. She enjoyed classical music and fine art. She was a proficient bridge player. Her life's work was raising her three children: Clark Kinlin of Charlotte, NC, Bruce Kinlin of New York City and John Kinlin of Denver, CO. In her later years she traveled frequently to spend time with her children and five grandchildren. She is also survived by two sisters.
Marlene had a wonderful sense of humor and an engaging personality. She brought a fun energy to every family event and party she hosted or attended, making it seem like that was the place to be. That magnetic energy kept her home bustling with her children and their friends through the Wrentham years and throughout most of her tenure in Maine where there were numerous fun family gatherings and golf tournaments through the years. But she was also a very independent person – a trait she strongly associated with herself and that of Maine, her adopted state.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, March 15 at the Bragdon-Kelley Funeral Home, 220 Court St. in Machias, ME between 10 am and noon.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Marlene's name to Maine Public (radio/television/on-line) at 800.884.1717 or by visiting mainepublic.org.