Claire Ava Little passed away peacefully at Pinnacle Health and Rehabilitation in South Portland on Jan. 17, 2023 with her cousin Leslie and the prayers of family members by her side. She was born in Damariscotta on Oct. 16, 1938. She was the only child of Minot K. and Mina Warren Little.
She grew up in the family homestead at 11 State Route 32 (North Side Road) in New Harbor. She was proud that the home had been the site of the original general store for the town that was run by her grandparents, Delmar and Edith Little. She worked at the Bristol Diner her senior year in high school. She graduated from Bristol High School in 1958. She attended the Mercy Hospital School of Radiology, earning her certificate in 1961 as a radiation technician and stayed with her cousin Barbara Jordan’s family in Portland during that time. She worked at Massachusetts General Hospital for 26 years. When her parents needed assistance she returned to Maine and worked at Miles Memorial Hospital. She also did private duty personal care. A very independent woman, she never married or had any children. She had a ready smile, a kind manner, and enjoyed working with children.
Claire loved animals and always had a dog and multiple cats. She enjoyed knitting and made many beautiful items for family and friends. She also liked to cook and made fruitcakes for the holidays. She had a garden for years and did her own yard and garden care. She enjoyed collecting art from local artists. She had two apartments made in her home and rented to local people and to summer visitors.
Claire was proud of her heritage and researched her family genealogy, joining the Mayflower Society and the Daughters of the American Revolution. She spoke to the Bristol Historical Society about the history of her family’s store and home. The original accountant’s desk from the general store was donated to the Bristol Historical Society. She enjoyed traveling with her cousin, Barbara. Together they went to England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales in 2002. The following year they visited New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Claire also traveled to Alaska to visit her aunt Patricia Welsh. She was raised Methodist but later converted to Catholicism through the Newcastle Catholic Church. When her health failed in 2015 Claire went to live at Freeport Place and later Hawthorne House in Freeport, transferring to Pinnacle to be closer to her cousin where she received excellent care from the Pinnacle staff and Compassus Hospice.
Claire was a godmother to children of family members and friends. She is survived by her aunt, Patricia Welsh, of Sitka, Alaska; multiple cousins, including John L. Gatcombe, of Waldoboro, Wendy Wood of Boothbay, Jay Warren of Boothbay Harbor, Barbara Walton of Boothbay Harbor, Richard Smith, of Massachusetts, Barbara Jordan Kruger, of Lilburn, Ga., Robert W. Gatcombe, of Hubert, N.C., John W. Gatcombe, of Waldoboro, Leslie Ann Gatcombe-Hynes, of South Portland, Steven Gatcombe, of Peterborough, N.H., and their families.
A graveside service will be held on May 20, 2023 at the New Harbor Cemetery at 1 p.m. Family and friends are welcome to come to Hillcrest Farm for a reception following the service. Donations in her memory can be made to the Bristol Historical Society or to Claire’s favorite charity, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
