Arlene Averill Steen, 89, of Alna, passed away Feb. 6, 2024 at her home here.
Born in Wiscasset, Aug. 12, 1934, she was the only child of Dan and Dorothy Bailey Ames. She lived most of her life on West Alna Road in Alna, first on one side of the road, then the other.
As a young woman Arlene worked in the telephone office on Main Street in Wiscasset. When people would call the office, she connected them quite often by looking out the window, and telling them the person they were looking for was shopping on Main Street.
In May of 1955 she married Harold E. Averill Jr. in Sheepscot Village. They then moved to the farmhands house across the street from the farm where she grew up. It would be her last and only move as this is where she raised her three boys after losing her husband in 1967. At that time, she went to work at Wiscasset Elementary School as the librarian, working there until 1980. After her retirement as a librarian, she could be found behind the cash register at Ames Supply, spending more time with her boys, at the family-owned business, until a few short years ago. She became known to all the employees as “Gram.”
In 1980, after her children were grown, she married Richard Steen. They traveled around the country in a camper with Arlene behind the wheel, always in the ready for a good road trip. They also spent several winters in Avon Park, Fla. Arlene was very sociable and spent several days a week at the Wiscasset Community Center, with friends old and new playing cribbage and taking water aerobics. Summertime she could be found at her beloved camp on Pemaquid Lake, in her garden, or a good blueberry patch, and of late, doing a good puzzle, and looking out her kitchen window watching her birds.
Arlene was predeceased by her mother and father, Dan and Dot Ames; her husband, Harold Averill; an infant daughter, Donna; and her second husband, Richard Steen. She is survived by her three sons, Jeffery Averill and his wife, Cindie, Stephen Averill and his wife, Patti-Jo, and Wayne Averill and his wife, Peggy; two stepdaughters, Gail Spath, and Maria Bourne and her husband, Don; six grandchildren, Kimberly Averill, Mike Averill, Laura Lynch, Daniel Averill, Audrey Blagdon, Sumner Averill; and 11 great-grandchildren.
A celebration of Arlene’s life will be held at 1 p.m., Sunday, March 3, 2024 at the Alna Firehouse, at 1579 Alna Road. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Wiscasset Community Center, 242 Gardiner Road, Wiscasset, ME 04578. To share a memory or story with Arlene’s family, please visit their online book of memories at bchfh.com.
