WILTON – Willard Blanchard Douglas, 86 of Wilton, passed into glory on Tuesday, January 15, 2019.
He was born on July 31, 1932 on the family farm in Wilton, the son of Charles and Muriel (Hamlin) Douglas. Willard resided on the farm for most of his life with his loving wife of 67 years. He was well known for his love of family, sense of humor, willingness to help anyone, and generous acts of kindness. Willard’s lifelong farming career encompassed the care and milking of his beloved (mostly) Guernsey herd, and his sawdust delivery business, which took him and his Mack truck all about central Maine. Willard was a member of Calvary Hill Baptist Church, the National Farmers Organization, and a leader in the Franklin County Beef Boosters 4-H club.
A few of Willard’s other pleasures in life included football, basketball, volleyball, cribbage, Louis L’Amour books, which were read again and again, and molasses. In his younger years he loved to play basketball and volleyball in the gym or the backyard. He coached basketball at Calvary Hill Christian School. He is also well remembered for his oversized cribbage board and pegs, which saw much action when anyone stopped in for a visit and during the famous “Friday night cribbage parties”. Willard firmly believed all his grand and great grandchildren should begin learning the game at 8 years of age as he said this helped them with their math skills. It is suspected he did this to ensure a constant pool of cribbage players. Those who knew him will remember his love of all things molasses – cookies, cakes, or poured over hot biscuits.
Willard is survived by his wife, Joan (Legere) Douglas; children, Nancy Marble of Wilton, Cindy and husband Stephen Andrews of Lyman, Ronald and wife Donna Douglas of Hope, Susan and husband Jonathan Stewart of Auburndale, FL, Deborah and husband Barry Trask of Wilton, 17 grandchildren, 3 step- grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, 3 step-great-grandchildren “with no end in sight”. And sister Dorothy Clemens of Old Orchard. He is predeceased by sisters,
Caroline Mayo and Inez Wheeler; son-in-law, Peter Marble; grandson, Jeffrey Douglas; and great-grandson, Loren Keim.
Celebration of Life will be on February 2 at 11am at Calvary Hill Baptist Church, 195 US Route 2E, Wilton.
In lieu of flowers, remembrance gifts may be given to Calvary Hill Baptist Church, PO Box 811, Wilton, ME 04294.
The family wishes to thank the staff at Sandy River and Androscoggin Hospice for their kindness during his stay.
we are so sorry for your loss Joan, I will always remember the cribbage tournaments at Edgewood and the fun we had playing. May God put his loving arms around your family as you mourn the loss of such a wonderful man.His booming voice can still be heard to all that know him. It was a honor to have known Willard..
Shelley and Peter
To the Douglas family, so sorry for your loss, I remember the fun times we had doing 4-H projects at the farm.
My condolences to you all.
My prayers and thoughts are with all the family. God has taken another of His saints to be with Him. I have enjoyed knowing Willard all these years. As I write this I can hear him laughing with that loud laugh, also I can hear him with that booming voice. I also can hear him at our Hamlin reunions conducting the auction that we had each year to raise some extra money. God bless you all as you go thru this difficult time of grieving, even though we know where he is and look forward to being there someday.
My sincere condolences to Joan and all the family. Such a great family and we were fortunate to be neighbors when on the farm and friends for many years.
Sincere condolences to Joan and the family.
My condolences to the Douglas family.
I have a lot of good memories.
Dear Douglas Family,
We are so sorry to hear of Willard’s passing. We remember him well coming to W. Farmington Pizza every week for lunch, he loved his lobster rolls. Always admired the beautiful farm every time we passed it and will now
remember it even more fondly.
May God bless you and comfort you in this sad time,.
Sincere Condolances,
Carol and Lance
Very sorry for your loss. I had a ton of fun playing cribbage and all of the laughs. May he rest on peace.
Willard will always be a fond memory for our family. He was always an awesome presence with his sense of humor love of his family, kids, and sports.
Another nice neighbor. My condolences to Joan and family.
Joan and family
Remember playing cribbage with you folks at Edgewood, and Willard trying to sneak a dessert without you seeing him, would hear him say, I can’t get away with anything. May he rest in Peace, and always share the wonderful memories.
Sheri
I am sorry to hear of his passing. He had a loving family and was always kind to me.
My condolences to all of Willard’s family.
Although we were second cousins we never met until the Hamlin reunions where I looked forward to his auctioneering. I got a kick out of his booming voice and how he made it such a fun time.
He will surely be missed very much.
Joan miss seeing you at Sandy River. Glad. Willard is pain free now. HugsJames’ daughter Terry