Readers of the monthly pet pages in the The Lincoln County News were familiar with the writings of Judith Hancock through her Dog Talk columns.
Hancock, a lifelong non-smoker, died of lung cancer March 5. She imparted deep knowledge and information through her columns about dog behavior, but her articles contained precious little about the writer herself.
Close Pemaquid neighbor, Rev. Bobby Ives, was effusive and warmly spoke about his longtime friendship with Hancock March 19.
“She lived right next to the library [Bristol Area Library] and we’re one mile up the [Old County] road and we always joked about being bookend Democrats,” Ives said.
According to Ives, Hancock lived a quiet, solitary life, “sort of like Emily Dickinson,” he said. “She really stayed right where she was; she never went on the water and very rarely left the State of Maine and the Village of Pemaquid; she loved her home and appreciated the natural environment around her.”
Born in Connecticut in 1928, Hancock was an only child. For her generation, she was highly educated, earning a bachelor of science, master’s degree, and completing pre-doctoral work in zoology.
Hancock was a teacher most of her life. She began her career in 1952, as an instructor at Mount Holyoke College. From 1956-63, she taught research techniques and procedures at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor.
She continued her teaching at Aroostook State in Presque Isle, then served as a professor and chair of the biology department at St. Joseph’s College in North Windham from 1966-82.
While still teaching at St. Joseph’s, in 1970 she was appointed a fellow to the Washington Academy of Science for her extensive research at Jackson Laboratory and in 1972, she was awarded Outstanding Educator of America.
Her love for Shetland Sheepdogs began with her first dog, a sheltie acquired when a young woman in 1944. At that time she began a relationship with the breed that would last more than 70 years, through training and breeding.
She was particularly proud when one of her dogs was the first in Maine to win all obedience titles awarded by the American Kennel Club.
She moved to Pemaquid in 1989. Always a teacher, in retirement Hancock began educating people in understanding and interacting with their dogs through classes and her Dog Talk column.
Additionally, she published articles on genetic research, dog training, environmental concerns and also published numerous books.
She was married, divorced, had no children or known relatives, but she leaves a few deeply abiding friends, like Ives, who considered her family. Ives recalls years and years of shared Thanksgivings and Christmas celebrations that always included Hancock with his family. “She was a very dear friend,” he said.
Donna Dolham, president of the board of trustees of the Midcoast Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, where Hancock was a member and frequent Sunday speaker, remembers one of Hancock’s stories.
“She told this wonderful story about taking her dogs to a school for the deaf,” she said.
Dolham said Hancock’s dogs were so well trained, they only needed hand signals as commands, and Dolham remembers Hancock speaking of being so moved when the children, observing the signals, said they had not known dogs were also hard of hearing, and knew sign language as they did.
Ives also remembers hours and hours of delightful stories told by Hancock.
“She was a remarkable writer, and not just through her Dog Talk column; but just stories on how she viewed life. Her writings were so personal, kind of an Emily Dickinson,” Ives remembers.
According to Ives, though she had many writings about science and dog behavior, she also had personal essays about growing up as a child, and her view of WWII.
“She told of her mother’s father was a Lutheran Minister, and her father’s father was also a Lutheran Minister, but one was more evangelical, and the two parts of the family never spoke,” Ives said.
“It made such a deep impact – here are two families married to each other through their children and didn’t speak. Judith was open and tolerant. She wrote about natural things, through beautiful essays,” Ives said, “and she wrote beautifully, laconic with wonderful insights into human nature.”
Ives said Hancock left “reams of stories, written out stories about going to college and high school, and about a little Quaker school she attended,” Ives said.
“She was really very shy and introverted, and being in groups of people was very difficult and so its really surprising she was a professor for so long. I sure she was an excellent teacher – she had such a vast knowledge of the natural world,” Ives said.
About six months ago, when Hancock discovered she had lung cancer, as a lifelong non-smoker, she went about making sure her final three shelties were taken care of, with Ives’ help.
“They went to close friends,” Ives said, about taking one of them up north of Houlton as Hancock wished. “She was a dear, dear friend,” Ives said again.
Members of the Maine sheltie community and friends will gather to celebrate Judith Hancock’s life on Saturday, March 23 at 4 p.m. at Skidompha Library.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Judith Hancock’s name may be made to the Midcoast Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, the Carpenter’s Boat Shop or the Bristol Area Library.
