Denyse Tobin Stultz, 88, of Whitefield, died peacefully on Jan. 25 at her home following a brief illness.
She was born in Whitefield on Jan. 1, 1919, in the all Irish Tobin family home, the fourth of six children, to Charles Marshall Tobin, a lightship captain from East Boston, and Elizabeth Luke Tobin, from Prince Edward Island.
She grew up a country girl in Whitefield, attended the Church School, and graduated from Cony High School, class of 1936. Following this, she attended the Kennebec School of Commerce in Gardiner.
She married Robert McMillan Stultz of Gardiner on Jan. 19,1941. Following the war, she moved with him to Washington, D.C., where she made a home, raised her small family, and pursued an interesting and fulfilling career in various departments in federal service.
The Whitefield country girl always dreamed of leaving her rural beginnings to live and work in the city. Taking advantage of all training opportunities along the way, she worked at the Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving, and the U.S. Air Force. From there she moved to the Department of Agriculture, where she ran a training center for entry-level employees. This also afforded many opportunities for travel throughout the United States to conduct training sessions.
Denyse found life in post war Washington, D.C. very exciting. She rarely failed to mention the time when she was tear-gassed while trying to get to work during one of the many 1960s demonstrations. She retired in the mid 1970s and realized rural life was not all that bad. She returned to Maine and eventually to her origins in Whitefield.
Denyse was predeceased by her mother and father; sisters, Elizabeth Violet Tobin McCormick, and Margaret Verl Tobin Chase; and brothers, Charles Herbert Tobin, and Joseph Alloysius Tobin.
She is survived by her sister, Mary Cecelia Tobin Olsen; sister-in-law, Edna Tobin; cousin and lifelong pal, Katy Perry; daughter, Catherine Olivia Balzarett and husband Dr. Joseph Balzarett; son, Christopher Robert Stultz and wife Karen Johnson Stultz; grandchildren, Andrea Balzarett Perez, Melissa Balzarett Ruiz, Erik Taylor Stultz, and Allison Stultz Rhodes; great-grandchildren, Mitchell Perez, Hayden Perez, Joseph Ruiz, Bailey Rhodes, Camden Rhodes, Mia Rhodes, and Draven Stultz; and many other cousins, nephews, nieces and friends, too many to mention.
There will be no visiting hours.
Mass of Christian Burial 9 a.m., Thurs., March 1 at St. Denis Catholic Church in Whitefield followed by a gathering of family and friends.
Arrangements are under the care of Staples Funeral Home, 53 Brunswick Ave., Gardiner.
