Valarie “Val” F. McPhee, 63, of East Boothbay, passed into God’s gentle care on Aug. 8 at her residence with her family at her side after a brief illness. Val was born in Bath May 19, 1947, the daughter of Harry E. and Janet Colley Fullerton, and attended Bath schools and Morse High School until her senior year, when her family moved to Boothbay Harbor, and she graduated from Boothbay Region High School. She went onto Colby College, leaving after a year when she met the love of her life, Neal “Nick” McPhee.
Raising her family in East Boothbay, Val began working in the Head Start program in the early 1970s, following the children from the program as they grew, always considering and describing them to her friends as “her kids.” For the past 23 years, Val has been employed with her life-long friend, Donna Phinney, in Wiscasset.
Family was always the most important thing to Val. She supported her children as they competed in swimming events at local and national meets, and other sporting events, and took great pride in seeing them mature into the adults they are today, always being their advocate and supporter.
She enjoyed tending to flower gardens and was a charter member of the Boothbay Region Botanical Gardens.
Val is predeceased by her mother, Janet; and son, Matthew Neal McPhee.
Survivors include her husband of 43 years, Neal “Nick” McPhee of East Boothbay; sons, Jason McPhee and wife Elisa of Bangor, Adam McPhee and wife Erica of Northport, Fla., and David McPhee and wife Megan of Waterbury, Vt.; daughter, Meghan McPhee of Quincy, Mass.; grandchildren, Delainey, Kaiden and Erilyn, all of Northport, Fla., Jakob and Faith of Cheshire, Conn. and Marin and Phaedra of Bangor; father, Harry Fullerton of Bath; brothers, Harry Fullerton and wife Sue of Lewiston and Mark Fullerton and wife Monica of Columbus, Ohio; and uncle, Joe Fullerton and wife Cindy of Standish.
Celebration of Val’s life 1 p.m., Sat., Aug. 14 at the Simmons, Harrington & Hall Funeral Home and Cremation Service, 975 Wiscasset Rd., Boothbay.
Should friends desire, memorial donations in Valarie’s memory may be made to Camp Sunshine, 35 Acadia Rd., Casco, ME 04015 or to Miles Home Health and Hospice, 40 Belvedere Rd., Damariscotta, ME 04543.
Condolences to the family may be placed on Val’s memory page at hallfuneralhomes.com.
