Helen Catherine Macpherson Gillespie, 93, of Damariscotta, died on Oct. 13 at Cove’s Edge, with her family by her side.
She was born in Cambridge, England on Jan. 6, 1917, the daughter of Eleanor Wayne Parker of Orange, N.J., and Robert Ian Macpherson of Newtonmore, Scotland. Helene attended the Brearley School in New York City, and is a graduate of St. Timothy’s School in Baltimore, Md.
On Jan. 18, 1941, she married Stuart P. Gillespie in St. Pauls Church in West Orange, N.J. They raised three children in Canton Center, Conn. Stuart and Helen retired to Pemaquid in 1977.
Family was the most important part of Helen’s life. She shared with them sailing, fly fishing, alpine and Nordic skiing, gardening, camping, global travel and nature, especially ornithology. Particularly rewarding to her was her teaching at the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, Conn.
Helen was predeceased by her brothers, John and Ian Macpherson.
She is survived by her husband of 69 years, Stuart of Schooner Cove, Damariscotta; and children, Stuart Gillespie of Bath, Duncan of Charlestown, Mass., and Margot Iwanchuk of Bedford, Mass.; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Celebration of Helen’s life 11 a.m., Fri., Oct. 15 at the Second Congregational Church in Newcastle. Internment will be at the Harrington Meetinghouse Cemetery in the spring.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a natural history, conservation, or land preservation organization of personal choice.