Julia M. Smith Obituary (2008)

Julia Mary Swan started her life's journey on March 1st 1938. She was born in the home of her parents, Arthur and Mary Swan at 126 Main Street in Springvale, Maine. This was their first child. Three days before Julia's first birthday two more siblings joined the ranks, a twin brother David and twin sister Linda. In their early youth the three were often referred to as triplets. At the age of six Julia started taking piano lessons. She took cornet lessons in junior high and joined the band in the 7th and 8th grade. She continued to play in the band through high school and college. She was involved in many activities through high school and graduated in 1956, third in her class.During her senior year the civics teacher gave the students two options, take the final exam or enter an oratorical contest that was sponsored by the American Legion. Julia thought it would be easier to enter the oratorical contest, and to her surprise she won first place. She went on to win the county and regional contest as well. She came in third place in the state finals. The prize money was $1000 which paid for two years of tuition at Gorham State Teachers' College to start her life long dream of being a teacher. She graduated from Gorham State Teachers' College in 1960 and started teaching at King Jr. High School in Portland teaching English to 7th, 8th, and 9th graders. In 1961 she married Peter H. Smith and moved to Hampden Highlands, Maine where she taught 3rd grade at the George Weatherby School. Peter completed courses at the University of Maine while Julia started on her master's degree in education.In 1963 their first child, Harold, was born. When Peter graduated from college they moved to Raymond, Maine. He worked for Agway covering the whole state of Maine. Julia did a long term sub position in Hollis in third grade. In the fall she taught at Casco Memorial School for three years.In May of 1967 their second child, Peter L., was born. A few weeks later Julia received her master's degree from the University of Maine at Gorham. When Peter L. was a few weeks old the family moved to Acton, Maine where Peter H. built them a new house. In the fall of 1967 Julia went back to teaching, this time at the Alfred Memorial School for 3 years. During this time a daughter Debra was born on New Year's Day of 1969. After Alfred, she taught at Shapleigh Memorial School until their fourth child Sherri Lynne was born in 1974. This time she took four years off before returning to teaching at the Acton Elementary School. She spent the last of her 22 years teaching there and retired in the year 2000. She was the first teacher there to receive the master teacher position, which was a mentor type position. She was lead negotiator for the teacher's contract. For many years she was the spelling bee coordinator. At one point she served as an interim principal. Since the school had no nurse at that time, she served as the nurse due to her EMT experience. Julia was very active in her community. In 1980 Acton formed the Acton Ambulance Association. She joined the Ambulance as an LAA and then became an EMT for 16 years. In the fire department she was the fire prevention officer for many years. She was trained in the Junior Fire Setter program so that she could intervene in crisis situations in this field. She was also a member of the firefighter auxiliary. She was treasurer of the Loon Pond Betterment Association and founded a weekly news letter, reporting news of interest to the residents of Loon Pond. She was also a 40 year member of the Eastern Star at the Pondicherry chapter in Bridgton, Maine.Julia was very active at Springvale First Baptist Church. She told children's stories for 15 years and was the church organist. She served on a number of committees: pastoral search committee, pastoral care committee, and the music committee. She was on the board of education, taught Sunday School and BYF, was a member of the Stephen's Ministry, took part in many church plays, sang in the choir, and at one point served as president and vice president of Sereco. Julia had other side jobs besides being the church organist. After taking a series of ballroom dance lessons with her husband Peter, she eventually found herself teaching ballroom dance classes. She taught for Maine Ballroom Dance in Portland and both Massabesic and Sanford Adult Education. She even taught her children to dance for Debra's wedding. Julia worked 2 years for her son-in-law as secretary for his chimney sweeping business. She really enjoyed calling and talking to the customers, especially the elderly ones because she knew that they were lonely.Julia had many hobbies. One of these was music. Music was a major component in her life. Along with being the organist at church, she accompanied many concerts and played for the Easter cantatas for over 30 years. She also taught piano lessons. One of the highlights of her musical career was being the accompanist for a Jewish ceremony at the Temple Beth El in Portland. She played the piano for several productions at The Maine Stage Company, as well as for many concerts and ceremonies at the Acton Elementary School.Her other hobbies included writing poems and short stories, gardening, bird watching, and flower arranging. She won very many red and blue ribbons and several best in show for her flower arrangements at Acton Fair.One of her biggest hobbies was also a great passion for Julia. She loved to play Scrabble. She attended a number of tournaments in the New England area and was a nationally certified scrabble instructor. She was the director of the nationally certified Acton Scrabble Club. She also taught lessons and coordinated the Scrabble Group at the Trafton Senior Center.Julia loved writing stories and poems, getting many ideas from the antics and life experiences of her family. About ten years ago she wrote a book for Middle Schoolers called, Pirates and Princesses, which detailed the lives of kids in the White House.Julia's greatest accomplishment and love was her grandchildren. She was blessed to have 5 grandchildren: Ricky-21, Julie-18, Sarah-14, Jennifer-11, and Alison-4. With the birth of each new grandchild, she was proud to notice their skills, talents, and capabilities progress with each passing year. She loved babysitting. She enjoyed reading to them when they were young and being read to by them when they were older. She taught Jennifer piano lessons, played Scrabble with Sarah, did puzzles with Ali, and enjoyed talks with Ricky and Julie.At the age of 70, after 47 years of marriage, 4 children, and 5 grandchildren, Julia finally completed her life's journey here on Earth. Now she is safe in the hands of God.Relatives and friends are invited to call on Friday from 2-4 and 6-8 PM at the Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home, 580 main Street, Springvale. A funeral service will be held on Saturday at 10:00 AM at the Springvale First Baptist Church, with the Rev. Elizabeth A. Keating officiating. Committal prayers will be led by Rev. Dennis Reeves on Sunday at 2:00 PM at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Denmark.In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Julia M. Smith Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Carlene Doyle, Acton Elementary School, 700 Milton Mills Road, Acton, ME 04001. Condolences may be expressed at the Condolences tab at left.