With profound sadness the family of Peter R. Hannah shares his passing at age 89 at Islebrook Village in Wiscasset after a long illness at his home in New Harbor. He was born in Montreal, Canada, the son of Gerald H.P. Hannah and Edith (Webb) Hannah. From 1938-1950, the family lived in Morin Heights in the Laurentian Mountains and then moved to the states with residences in Florida and Vermont. During this time Peter learned carpentry and woodcarving skills from his father and played high school football in Bradenton, Fla. and Poultney, Vt.
After his high school graduation in Florida in 1955, Peter became a naturalized U.S. citizen and entered the University of Vermont. In an interview for an article for the Burlington Free Press his freshman year about his “whittling his way through college,” he was asked why he chose forestry as a profession. He responded, surely with his wide grin, “That way I’ll always have enough wood for whittling.”
As an exchange student he transferred to the University of Maine his junior year where he joined Sigma Chi fraternity and the track and field team, throwing the discus, shot put, and hammer. He sold his 51/2 inch whittled figurines of sea captains, fishermen, skiers, hoboes, and foresters to gift shops such as Down East Novelties and became known for his carvings sold to campus fraternities for party favors. Following his graduation from the University of Maine he achieved a master’s degree from the Yale University School of Forestry.
Peter married Kay Sawyer in New Harbor in August 1960, after which they drove across the U.S. and Canada to the Coos Bay area of Oregon for Peter’s employment with the Bureau of Land Management. Following six months’ service in the U.S. Army Reserves, Peter joined the U.S. Forest Service at the Central States Forest Research Station in Bedford, Ind. There his focus switched to the hardwood forests he loved and he and Kay welcomed two daughters to the family.
Peter obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan, which in 1967 brought him back to UVM in Burlington, Vt. where he became a professor of forestry.
A son joined the family in 1968, the year before Peter built their family home in Shelburne, Vt. During his nearly 33 years of teaching at UVM, Peter especially enjoyed advising his students and leading class field trips as well as his research, which led to numerous publications. He founded the Northern Journal of Applied Forestry and was very active in the New England branch of the Society of American Forestry, serving several years as its chairman and receiving a Distinguished Service Award in 1988 for Outstanding Contributions to the Forestry Profession.
His sabbatical leaves from UVM took him to Harvard Forest, Asheville, N.C., Germany, Central America, the Caribbean Islands, Hawaiian Islands, New Zealand, and Scotland, to which he returned multiple times after he retired in 1999.
Upon retirement in Bristol, in the early morning before tackling his day’s projects, Peter enjoyed paddling his canoe on the calm of Biscay Pond near the home and cabin he built there. It can be said he met life with enthusiasm and appreciation. He not only loved his family and treasured his relationships with his professional colleagues and friends but spent many happy hours pursuing his passions that included skiing, fly-fishing, fiddling, bluegrass music, and old cars.
He also readily volunteered and took leadership roles in the former Pemaquid Watershed Association land trust, the Old Bristol Historical Society, the Congregational Church of Bristol, and the United Methodist Church in New Harbor, where he and Kay moved in 2015, particularly relishing a bit more travel, hiking at Pemaquid Point, and sunsets over Johns Bay.
Peter was preceded in death by his sisters, Norma Ruby and Judith Shaw; his brother, Duncan; and his infant grandson, Jamin Peter Trudeau; as well as a number of cousins, nieces, and nephews from out of state.
He leaves a loving family, his wife of 66 years, Kay Hannah, of New Harbor; his daughter, Leslie Reny, and husband, Mike, of Damariscotta; his daughter, JoLynn Trudeau, and husband, William, of Lowell, Mass.; and son, Ian, of Westminster, Colo.; as well as eight grandchildren, Keene Bartlett, Will Bartlett and his wife, Caroline, Luke Bartlett, Micah Trudeau and his wife, Callie, Avanah Heath and her husband, Rogan, Natalya Kay Trudeau, Seth Trudeau, and Jaydin Trudeau; and four great-grandchildren, Wesley, Indie, Hannah, and Sawyer.
The family is sincerely grateful for the caregiving and support provided by Comfort Keepers, Islebrook Village, and hospice.
A celebration of life service will be held at the United Methodist Church of New Harbor on May 24 at 3 p.m. with a reception following. Those wishing to donate in Pete’s memory may give to the Alzheimer’s Association, a charity of choice, or simply plant a tree. His memorial webpage can be seen at everloved.com.
