Grace H. Wetherill, 82, of Wiscasset, died March 20 at Maine Medical Center in Portland after a courageous battle with heart disease.
She was born in Fitchburg, Mass. on Oct. 23, 1925, the eldest daughter of Mansell Rowe and Julia Hopkins (Baron) Garland. The family moved to Ellsworth shortly thereafter and she attended Ellsworth High School. In 1951, she graduated from Gorham Teachers College and embarked on a career in teaching and guidance which spanned three decades. During the first nine years she taught school in Boothbay Harbor and Limestone and in New Paltz, N.Y., before returning to Boston University to complete a Masters of Education degree in Guidance and Testing. She joined the faculty at Wakefield High School (near Boston, Mass.) in 1960 where she taught math and worked in the guidance department until her retirement in 1984.
In 1960 she married the artist Edward Cincotti. Their nearly 20 year marriage was distinguished by a shared energy, humor and spirit of adventure. They travelled extensively during her school holidays, spending significant time in Spain and Mexico. This love of new cultural experiences persisted throughout her life, even after her husband’s untimely death from cancer. In later life she visited China, Peru and Turkey.
In 1983 she married Lynn Wetherill, a fellow teacher, and moved to Wiscasset the following year. A keen horticulturalist, Grace was a member of the Wiscasset Garden Club and the Maine Rose Society. She served as newsletter editor for both the Mid-Coast Rose Society and the Maine Rose Society. She was also involved with the Dollars for Scholars Committee in Wiscasset, the Friends of Wiscasset Library and the Bath Citizens against Nuclear Arms. In recent years she worked for the Lincoln County Registry of Probate, where she assisted the courts in determining guardianships for the elderly.
She was predeceased by her husband, Lynn Wetherill in 1986 and her sister, Betse Gregory.
She is survived by brother, Dr. Whitmore Garland of Yarmouth; sister, Ruth Rush Ward of Hagerman, Ida.; niece, Jean Garland Searls of Oxford, England; and nephew, Allen Gregory of Saco.
A service celebrating her life, 2 p.m., Thurs., March 27 at St. Philips Episcopal Church in Wiscasset.
Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the American Lung Association of Maine, 122 State St., Augusta, ME 04330 or the National Emphysema Foundation, 15 Belden Ave. Norwalk, CT 06850.
Arrangements are by Daigle Funeral Home, 40 Federal St., Wiscasset.
