Don Justin Meserve, 72, an accomplished sculptor based in Round Pond, died at home in the presence of family on Nov. 3 due to lung cancer.
Don was born in South Weymouth, Mass. to Walter Meserve, an electrical engineer, and Dory (Hobart) Meserve, a musician. After graduation from South Weymouth High School in 1956 he enlisted in the army, attending combat training and ordnance school. An expert marksman, he served tours of duty in Thule, Greenland with 146th Ordnance Company near the North Pole, a pivotal experience that inspired his sculpture. Don also participated in Operation “Blue Bat,” the 1958 crisis under Eisenhower, surviving a plane crash upon landing in Lebanon. Promoted to sergeant, he served the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Asia, Mexico and Northern Europe, remaining a reservist until 1962.
In 1964 Don received a B.S. Degree in Industrial Design from Univ. of Bridgeport where he studied with influential teachers, designer Robert Redmond and painter Paul Nonay. He received the Wilkinson Award for cutlery design and a scholarship from the Scandinavian American Foundation to complete graduate studies abroad. While living in Copenhagen, Denmark he worked at major architectural firms designing products from jewelry to ovens, and studied specialized crafts such as glass blowing. On return Don established a design practice, started to exhibit sculpture, and became an instructor at the Rhode Island School of Design where he taught alongside notable woodworker Tage Frid and glass artist Dale Chihuly.
In the next two decades Don completed a teaching career and worked as a restoration expert for clients such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. By the late 1980s, he fulfilled his dream of living in Maine by building a studio complex in Round Pond. Don exhibited his sculpture internationally and established a longtime partnership with Gleason Fine Art of Boothbay Harbor and Portland.
Over a lifetime, Don explored multiple themes in a variety of media and techniques. Best known for artworks carved in granite and basalt, he loved to demonstrate sculpting methods, particularly at the first international Schoodic Sculpture symposium where he completed a massive installation piece for the waterfront at Winter Harbor. Don also pursued liturgical themes, culminating in the acquisition of his cast-pewter Stations of the Cross by the Cathedral of St. Luke in Portland.
A teacher at heart, Don nurtured many protégés and influenced a generation of Maine sculptors. At the top of his game as an artist, he was also a loving family man, neighbor and citizen of the world with an infectious sense of humor.
Don is survived by his wife of 28 years, Juanita Dugdale; son, Don Justin Meserve Jr.; daughter, Tracey Neylon and husband Glen and their children, Colm and Orlaith; and siblings, Kent Meserve, Walter “Skipper” Meserve and Wendy Noske.
Memorial contributions may be made to The Carpenter’s Boatshop, 440 Old County Rd., Pemaquid ME 04558-4005; or The Miles and St. Andrew’s Home Health and Hospice, 40 Belvedere Rd., Damariscotta, ME 04543.
Funeral service 3 p.m., Thurs., Nov 11, Veterans’ Day, at the Second Congregational Church, 51 Main St., Newcastle, www.newcastleucc.org.
Memorial to be held in Portland next May, which will be announced later this year at www.donjmeservesculptor.com.
Local arrangements are under the direction of the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home, 612 Main St., Damariscotta.
