John C. VanOrsdell died peacefully on Aug. 18, at Boothbay Harbor’s Gregory Wing. He was born in Manhattan, N.Y. on Aug. 23, 1933 to Edward C. VanOrsdell and Mary Archambeault VanOrsdell.
He attended Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania’s Haverford School and the University of Pennsylvania, where he met his beloved wife, Alys, and where he graduated with a degree in economics, and Alys, a faculty member, with a degree in communications.
Upon completion of his two-year naval career, he moved to New York where he exercised his talents in the world of advertising, working on Madison Avenue as a copy writer. John and Alys then moved to Maine, living here for the past 30 years, where John designed and built Edgewater Homes, English Tudor Homes on the coast of Maine, while vigorously continuing his writing career.
His latest and most important work is Angelesis, a political/spiritual novel, available at the local bookstore and on line at Angelesis.com.
John had a remarkable ability to generate original concepts and translate them into ideas that had exciting applications.
John is predeceased by his parents.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Alys Wriggins VanOrsdell; daughters, Dana VanOrsdell, Alyssa VanOrsdell Amundson, and Ellen Kate Raphael; grandchildren, Evan VanOrsdell, Jamian Walker, Danielle Ciampro, Brandon Amundson and Alexa Amundson; and great-grandson, Joseph Ciampro.
A celebration of his life will be held at 11 a.m., Fri., Sept. 11 at Hall’s of Boothbay, 975 Wiscasset Rd., Boothbay. Rev. Sarah Foulger will be officiating. All are welcome.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Urantia Foundation, 533 W Diversey Parkway, Chicago, IL 60614 in John’s name.
To extend online condolences, light a candle for John, or to share a story or pictures, visit his Book of Memories at www.hallfuneralhomes.com.
Hall’s of Boothbay has care of the arrangements.
