A beloved and enduring presence in Aroostook County, Maine has passed away.
Alice Rowena (Lunney) Gregory of Westfield, Maine died on August 20, 2010 at the Dexter Health Care Nursing Home in Dexter, Maine at the age of 95. Her daughters Gloria and Amelda were with her when she died. She was predeceased by her husband Donald and daughter Sharon.
Alice was a beloved presence in Westfield, Maine, her life-long home. Alice's house, next to the village post office, was the center of social life in the close-knit community of Westfield. She was everyone's kind, generous and witty Aunt Alice. She was also a loving friend, daughter, sister, mother, aunt, grandmother, great grandmother and great great grandmother.
Her extended family, from Maine to Florida to Alaska, all mourns her passing. She was an original Maine character, and she is missed.
Alice was the daughter of Thomas Andrew Lunney and Susan Martha (Taylor) Lunney and was born on May 15, 1915 at Easton, Maine. She married Donald Gregory of Westfield, Maine and had three lovely daughters: Gloria Gregory (Bridges), Amelda Gregory (Ross) and Sharon Gregory.
Her father Thomas Lunney emigrated to Easton, Maine from Glassville, New Brunswick in 1900 and married Susan Taylor that year. They had a farm at Riviere de Chute in Easton for many years, but eventually moved their large family to Westfield.
Alice's grandfather William Lunney was born in Ireland in 1821, emigrated to a farm in Waterborough, NB in 1847, and later married Charlotte Drost and settled on a farm in Glassville, NB in 1872. Her Irish grandfather was a descendant of the chieftains of Mhuintir Luinigh in Tyrone, the lords of Magh Ithe in Donegal, the medieval kings of Aileach and the ancient High Kings of Ireland.
Alice's mother Susan Martha (Taylor) Lunney was the youngest child of David Taylor and Martha Stevens of Easton, Maine. Alice's grandfather, David Taylor, served in the Union Army during the Civil War and was a farmer in Easton, Maine. Her great grandfather Isaiah Taylor built the first school in Smithfield, Maine. Her great grandmother, Mehitable (Pattee) Taylor of Smithfield, Maine, was a descendant of Sir William Pattee, the physician to England's Oliver Cromwell and King Charles II and a founder of the Royal Academy of Physicians. Alice's great great grandfather Samuel Taylor was the first Quaker minister in Belgrade, Maine and was a noted pomologist. Her great great grandmother, Elizabeth (Crowell) Taylor was a verified Mayflower descendant. Alice's great great uncle, Samuel Taylor of Belgrade, Maine, built the Maine Central Railroad and was its first president. Her great, great, great grandfather, Elias Taylor of Winthrop, Maine, was a patriot of the American Revolution and died serving his country at Fort Ticonderoga, New York in 1777. Alice was also a descendant of Dr. Rowland Taylor of Hadleigh, England, one of the great martyrs of the Protestant Reformation, who was burned at the stake as a Protestant heretic by England's Bloody Queen Mary on February 9, 1555.
All of that genealogy and family history information would have given Aunt Alice a good great laugh. The only thing that Alice knew about her mother's humble Taylor family was that they were kind and generous Quakers.
In August 2004, at age 89, Alice travelled with me and other family members to Ireland to visit the places where our Irish ancestors once lived. Her presence was our good luck charm, and blessed our journey in countless ways.
Love Yah, Aunt Alice !
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