Tammy Sue Purington, 51, of Boothbay, passed away March 13 in the loving arms of her best friend and soul mate of 32 years, Irving Purington, after a long and courageous battle with heart failure.
In the short life Tammy lived, she had an amazing and fulfilling journey. Tammy was born on Aug. 26, 1963 in Barre, Vt. to Harrison (Hap) Hartman. As a child, Tammy and her siblings, Connie and Chris, had many adventures together. They enjoyed building snow forts, camping, hikes, picking blackberries, Thunder Road raceway, snowmobiling, festivals and fairs, catching lightening bugs, and visiting their grandmothers.
Irv and Tammy met in the early 1980s; from the beginning they were inseparable and the journey they shared together was like no other. On March 20, 1982, Tammy gave birth to the first of two children Nichole (Nicki). From that point forth Tammy realized her calling, and was blessed once more with the birth of a son, Irving (Bud) on June 9, 1986. Tammy was a devoted mother, pouring her heart and soul into raising her children and teaching them everything along the way.
In the mid-1980s, Irv and Tammy moved to Oregon where they spent two years exposing their young children to a whole new world which consisted of daily salmon fishing, trips to the mountains where elk were abundant (and a hunting trip which resulted in Tammy bagging a majestic elk), walks along the rivers, and camping and fishing along the beach.
The family moved back to Boothbay in the late 1980s, where Tammy worked a variety of jobs at local restaurants, housekeeping, and at the Chamber of Commerce. Still her full-time job and main focus was on family and motherhood, spending countless hours helping the kids on projects and attending school activities (there was never a holiday that she didn’t bake goodies for their classes).
Tammy had a wide variety of hobbies which included baking, canning, drawing, organic gardening, and sewing quilts; her flower gardens were simply amazing. She enjoyed volunteering at the St. Andrews Thrift Shop once a week and the time spent with “the girls.”
Tammy was an animal-lover by nature. She and Irv took on a new adventure in 2004 raising sheep, when unknown to them two of the sheep were expecting and on Mother’s Day she helped deliver three lambs (they also raised chickens). Tammy and Irv loved the Maine coast, taking weekend drives to unknown destinations and walks along the beach looking for treasures.
Tammy was the proud grandmother of four grandsons, Kayden, Landon, Tristan, and Kellen. They were her special buddies and she looked forward to her daily phone calls and their visits to Maine. They brought a great deal of joy to her life and she loved each one of them dearly.
Tammy’s warmth, generosity, and kind heart will always be remembered by those she helped. Her friendly disposition, common sense approach, wonderful sense of humor, and supportive nature touched everyone around her and truly enriched our lives. While the loss of Tammy will forever leave an irreplaceable void, we take comfort in knowing that she will be forever with us.
Tammy is predeceased by her father, Harrison (Hap) Hartman; and in-laws, Cliff and Vange Purington.
She is survived by her husband of 32 years, Irv Purington; daughter, Nichole and husband Peaslee of Jared Edgecomb; son, Irv and wife Abby Purington of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.; son, Logan Posey; grandsons, Kayden, Landon, Tristan, and Kellen Purington; grandmother, Arlene Beatty of Barre, Vt.; sister, Connie and husband Glen Devenger of Trevett; brother, Chris Hartman of So. Burlington, Vt.; and many extended family members.
A celebration of life will be held later this summer.
