Rand N. Stowell, Jr. (1941-2018)

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SOUTH FREEPORT – Rand N. Stowell, Jr. died in South Freeport on July 12 after a long illness.

Rand was born on Oct. 14, 1941, the son of Rand and Phoebe Hinman Stowell of Dixfield.

He attended Dixfield schools, and graduated from Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, NH. He then graduated from Dartmouth College and the Boston University School of Law. He was admitted to the Maine Bar in 1967. In 1980, he married Susan Scott of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Following his graduation from law school and upon the sudden death of his father, Rand became the president of the family-owned forest products company located in Dixfield, then called Timberlands, Inc. For 30 years, Rand worked with his two brothers and cousin in building one of Maine’s major businesses known as The United Timber Corp. which owned and operated several independently named subsidiaries.

Following the sale of United Timber in 1999, Rand started several companies and consulted with many others. He also volunteered as a SCORE mentor. At the time of his death, he was Chairman of the Board of Friends of Maine’s Mountains, a not-for-profit organization that he founded in 2009 to protect the mountains and ridges of Maine from industrial development.

During his working career, Rand served as the president of the Maine Forest Products Council and the treasurer of the Maine Hardwood Association. He enjoyed politics and several Maine governors sought his counsel. He was appointed to various governmental affairs committees at the federal and state levels. He was most proud of his work on the committees that produced Maine’s Tree Growth Tax Law and the Maine Development Foundation. He served as the Chairmen of Maine’s Small Enterprise Growth Fund (now the Maine Venture Fund). He served as a trustee of the Cardigan Mountain School in Canaan, NH which his mother’s family had founded, and on the Dartmouth College grant committee. Rand served on the Board of Directors of the Casco Northern Bank and Ventrex Laboratories in Portland, The Knowlton McLeary company, and New England Financial Group. Over the years, Rand served on many committees in the towns of Dixfield and Weld. He was a Founder and long time President of the Webb Lake Association.

Both the Stowell and Hinman families were early settlers in New England arriving in the 1630s. Until his mother’s death in 2005, when the family home in Dixfield was sold, the family had lived in it for 190 years. Rand’s home at the head of Webb Lake in Weld was in the family for 117 years. He was very proud of his family history in the Androscoggin and Webb River Valley. His family also has ties to Freeport and the Randall Family that go back to the Revolutionary War.

Rand is survived by his wife, Susan; two sons, Barrett and Whitney; brothers, Richard and John; nephews, Scotty, Tyler, James, Preston, Porter and nieces, Sandy, Lila, Nora, Lisa and Heidi and multiple cousins. A wonderful big family!

A gathering of the family and friends of Rand Stowell will be held on Sunday, July 22 at 1 p.m. at the former Stowell (presently Linda Bean’s) Barn, 157 West Side Rd, Weld, Maine. Please, no flowers or remembrance gifts.

Tributes and condolences may be shared with his family on his memorial wall at www.wilesrc.com.

Arrangements are in the care of the Wiles Remembrance Center 42 Weld Street Dixfield, Maine.

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5 Comments

  1. I will always be grateful to Rand and his family for their friendship and support. Thank you for the work you gave me through the years at the Stowell Farm. A lot of good memories. May you rest in peace Rand.

  2. So sorry to hear of Rand’s passing. He was always interesting to talk to and lived several houses from my mother’s family home. That was the Merrill’s home in Dixfield. My brother’s Norman and Frank worked for him for years. Frank sold him potatoes from our garden which he and Susan always enjoyed.

  3. Am truly saddened to hear of Rand’s passing. My thoughts and prayers are with the entire Stowell family.

  4. My sincere condolences to Susan and family. Rand was a brilliant man and always interesting to talk with on a variety of subjects.

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