Sherwood “Lee” Wotton, Sr., 83, of Thomaston, died Sept. 10 at Togus Hospital Hospice Care Center with his four children at his side. He was able to stay home as long as possible due to the wonderful care received from both Togus VA Hospice and Kno-Wal-Lin Hospice Home Care.
Lee was born Feb. 5, 1926, and grew up in Rockland and Owls Head, the son of Edmund Wotton and Beulah (Prior) Wotton.
He attended Rockland schools, and helped his parents in the donut business by delivering donuts and baked goods throughout the Rockland area.
In April 1944 he joined the Merchant Marines, serving in the Pacific and all around the world on oil tankers during WWII. After his discharge he came home to work for himself, driving trucks, working in the woods and hauling granite. In 1949 he married Winifred Miriam Korhonen. The Merchant Marines called him back for another tour of duty during the Korean conflict, serving as a pumpman on oil tankers.
Upon returning, Lee and his wife built their home in Thomaston. He worked for Coca-Cola for a short time and then went into business for himself selling soda from Brunswick to Belfast. He then started Lee Wotton’s Used Cars and Parts in South Thomaston, later moved mobile homes around the state, operated Wotton’s Storage, and then bought and sold scrap metals thru Lee Wotton & Son. He and his wife and family also owned and operated a Christmas wreath business.
Lee was on the board of directors of the Maine Used Car Dealers Association in the 1960s, the Knox County Fish and Game Association, and the South Thomaston Lions Club. He worked and helped with the Dollars for Scholars program in Thomaston when it first began, and was a member of the Finn Am Society.
In his younger days he loved to hunt, kept rabbit hounds, and could be seen on the rivers with his smelt-fishing shack. Over the years his hobbies included owning Harley Davidson motorcycles and vintage cars. As a HOG member, and a member of the Maine Obsolete Auto League (MOAL), he took his 1952 Chevy to shows around the state and to Canada.
He never took a real vacation in his lifetime, but one of his favorite activities was to sit down in his kitchen at home or on the deck of his cottage at Lermond Pond and socialize over a cup of coffee.
Lee was predeceased by his wife Winnie in 1992.
He is survived by his sister, Joyce Ross of Owls Head; son, Sherwood Wotton, Jr. and wife Patricia Moran Wotton and their children Haley and Nikolai of Rockland; daughters, April Wotton and companion Harvey Curtis and their daughter Kelly and son-in-law Rocky Gorbey, all of Warren, Kristal Bouwens and husband Don Bouwens and their children, Alex and Quinn and granddaughter Sophia of Portland, and Tracy Littlefield and husband Doug Littlefield and daughters Taylor and Ashlyn of Vinalhaven; sisters-in-law, Gwendolyn “Cubbie” Korhonen, of Thomaston, Sonja Surek and husband Peter Surek of Thomaston, and Mary Lear and husband Dana Lear of Thomaston; brother-in-law, John Pushaw and companion Diane Laing of Warren; his companion in later years, Lily Beckett of St. George; and many nieces and nephews.
There will be no funeral service at Lee’s own request.
Any donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to the V.A. V.S. Hospice Unit, Voluntary Services 135, Dept. of Vet Affairs, 1 VA Center, Augusta, ME 04330; the American Cancer Society, NE Division, 1 Bowdoin Mill Island, Suite 200, Topsham, ME 04086; the Maine Alzheimer’s Association, 170 U.S. Rt. 1, Suite 250, Falmouth, ME 04105; or the charity of your choice.
Sympathies to the family may be expressed through hallbibber@myfairpoint.net.
Arrangements are entrusted to Hall & Bibber Funeral Home, 78 Main St., Thomaston.
