Obituary
We are sad to report the passing of Henry Warren Saunders, 92, in Osprey, Florida.
Henry was born in Bangor, Maine in1928 and was raised in Westbrook, Maine, not far from the mill and woodworking business his grandfather and great uncle founded at the turn of the last century. He was the eldest of 5 children. He participated in the Boy Scouts and achieved his Eagle Scout in 1942. Henry was a member of the 1946 graduating class at Westbrook High School.
Henry graduated from the University of Maine Orono in 1950 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He long served as the President of the Class of 1950.
He was commissioned in the US Army Corp of Engineers, serving in the active reserves, 1950-1963, and was honorably discharged as a Captain. It was during this time that he met his wife Marjorie. They were married in 1953.
As a young employee at Saunders Brothers, Henry flew a Piper J-3 Cub airplane over vast acres of sustainable northern New England forest land surveying white and yellow birch. When he retired in 1986, Henry started building his dream house on an old campsite along the shores of Lake Sebago.
Henry was very active in the Westbrook community. He was the State of Maine – Land Use Regulation Commission, Commissioner, and was involved in Westbrook Urban Renewal Authority. He also served as Westbrook City Council, Alderman at Large.
He has been a member of the Rotary Club of Westbrook from 1964 to the present. One of his accomplishments was involvement in starting the Rotary Club of Tver, Russia in 1986.
Henry has received a number of awards:
- Distinguished Service Award, College of Forest Resources University of Maine Orono, Maine
- Multiple Paul Harris Fellow and Major Donor Rotary Foundation – Rotary International
- Rotary District Governor’s Citation
- Distinguished Service Citation Rotary Club of Westbrook, Maine
- Black Bear Award – University of Maine Alumni Association
- Frank Crowe Award – University of Maine College of Engineering
- Stillwater Society, University of Maine
His lifelong dedication to education led him to set up several professorships at the University of Maine – Orono:
- The Henry W. Saunders Forestry Professorship
- The Kenneth W. Saunders and Henry W. Saunders Professorship in Leadership and Management in honor of his son.
- The Marjorie H. Saunders and Leslie S. McManus Leadership Professorship in honor of his wife and daughter
Henry created the Leadership Training Course which has been taught at University of Maine, Orono, designed to teach leadership at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Henry also established the Marjorie Higbee Saunders and Henry W. Saunders Endowed Scholarship Fund with Maine Medical Center/Tufts University School of Medicine Program to support doctor and nurse training.
Henry was a licensed pilot, played tennis, was an avid skier and enjoyed traveling.
Henry is survived by his daughter Leslie Saunders McManus and her husband Bryan of Standish, Maine, brother Bruce Saunders and his wife Susan of Falmouth, Maine, sister Judith Bartholomew and her husband Robert of Maryland, brother Thomas Saunders and his wife Pamela of Florida, his companion, Karen Marie Reilly and numerous nieces and nephews.
Henry was predeceased by his wife Marjorie, son Kenneth W. Saunders, his brother Woodbury Saunders and his sister-in-law Janice Saunders.
A private burial service will be held at Woodlawn Cemetery, Westbrook, Maine.
Memorial services in Westbrook, Maine will be scheduled at a future date.
Those who wish may make donations to The Maine Medical and Tufts University Program, which trains Medical Doctors for rural medicine in Maine. The men and women in this program receive an M.D. degree from Maine Medical Hospital and Tufts University in four years. The mailing address is Maine Medical Center Development Department, 22 Bramhall Street, Portland, Maine 04102.
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