Obituary for David Leonard Angell
KENNEBUNK - The splendid life of David Leonard Angell came to completion July 21, 2019, at his home in Kennebunk, near the ocean that so informed his life.
Born in Biddeford, Maine, on August 16, 1939, to Leonard and Elsie Smith Angell, he has two sisters, Pamela Boyden of Lyman and Sally Hansen of Tennessee. His older brother Richard passed away in 2003.
David graduated from Kennebunk High School in 1957, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He also joined the 302nd Military Police Battalion Army Reserve in Saco that offered a two-year tour upon graduation. But deciding he would prefer service on the sea, David instead joined the US Coast Guard for four years. During that time, he served aboard the Search & Rescue 125-ft. Cutter Agassiz, patrolling for disasters at sea from Montauk, Long Island, to Lewes, Del.
In 1961 David entered the New England Institute of Embalming and Anatomy, a two-year course in Boston, as preparation for joining his father in their family business. He ran Angell Funeral Home, on Dane Street in Kennebunk, for 15 years. In 1970 he sold the business.
For the next 26 years, David was in partnership with David Shields at Shields' Meats, also in Kennebunk. His next venture was opening and operating Kennebunk Sausage Company, where he built up a loyal clientele for his handcrafted sausage. But his favorite job was at Famous Dave's in Scarborough. He loved the young people he worked with, who called him "Pops." They found him humorous, kind, inspirational, and a great teacher. He retired last fall, after eight years on the job, when diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer.
David was involved with many civic and fraternal organizations. He was past president of the Kennebunk Rotary Club, a member of The American Legion, and a long-time member of the Arundel Yacht Club. In 1986 he was awarded the Grand Lodge of Maine 50-Year Ancient Free and Accepted Masons Veterans Medal. He was also among the first ten members of the Search and Rescue Unit of Kennebunk and a volunteer member of the Kennebunk Fire and Rescue Department in the 70s and 80s.
An avid outdoorsman, David enjoyed hunting and fishing throughout his lifetime. He especially enjoyed trips to his father-in-law Ben Tucker's camp at Round Pond, Maine. He was skilled at fly fishing and fished waters from the tip of South America to remote streams in Alaska. He travelled the Caribbean waters many times and visited Italy, the Mediterranean, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick on the Bay of Fundy, and Costa Rica with its two beautiful coastlines: the Caribbean and the Pacific. A memorable trip was by rail along the Canadian Rockies from Vancouver to Calgary.
David married Sandra Paul in April of 1959. They had two children, Kimberly Beth and Glenn Paul Angell. Daughter Kimberly Angell Pickering lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Her children are Hannah, a Neonatal Intensive Care RN, and her fiancé Kyle Palmer of Coral Springs, Fla; Meghan, a veterinarian, and husband Dustin Seymour of Greece, N.Y.; and Emily, beginning her second year as a fourth-grade math teacher, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Son Glenn passed away unexpectedly last July and is survived by his wife Sylvie Lemieux Angell and their son Caden Angell, who is preparing to begin his freshman year at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass. They live in Scarborough, Maine.
On Oct. 8, 1978, David married Elizabeth "Betty" Tucker Heikkinen who had two children, Darlene and Richard Heikkinen. Darlene lives in Winchester, Mass. with her husband William Davis. Their children are Holly, her husband Loren Tennent, and baby Gray of North Hampton, N.H.; Boone and Benjamin, both in Manhattan; and Olivia in Brooklyn, N.Y. Rick is married to Mary Catherine Heikkinen, and they live in Kennebunk. Their children are Will, preparing for an advance degree this fall; Sam, who graduated this year from St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., and now resides in Minneapolis-St. Paul; and Elizabeth, a junior at St. Lawrence University.
David, also known as Dad, Grampa, "Banca," Uncle Dave and Pops, loved his family, and they loved him. A life so fully lived also includes many friends, who, like his family, will dearly miss him.
A celebration of David's life will be Sunday, July 28, from 1 to 4 p.m. at The Nonantum Resort in Kennebunkport.
Born in Biddeford, Maine, on August 16, 1939, to Leonard and Elsie Smith Angell, he has two sisters, Pamela Boyden of Lyman and Sally Hansen of Tennessee. His older brother Richard passed away in 2003.
David graduated from Kennebunk High School in 1957, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He also joined the 302nd Military Police Battalion Army Reserve in Saco that offered a two-year tour upon graduation. But deciding he would prefer service on the sea, David instead joined the US Coast Guard for four years. During that time, he served aboard the Search & Rescue 125-ft. Cutter Agassiz, patrolling for disasters at sea from Montauk, Long Island, to Lewes, Del.
In 1961 David entered the New England Institute of Embalming and Anatomy, a two-year course in Boston, as preparation for joining his father in their family business. He ran Angell Funeral Home, on Dane Street in Kennebunk, for 15 years. In 1970 he sold the business.
For the next 26 years, David was in partnership with David Shields at Shields' Meats, also in Kennebunk. His next venture was opening and operating Kennebunk Sausage Company, where he built up a loyal clientele for his handcrafted sausage. But his favorite job was at Famous Dave's in Scarborough. He loved the young people he worked with, who called him "Pops." They found him humorous, kind, inspirational, and a great teacher. He retired last fall, after eight years on the job, when diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer.
David was involved with many civic and fraternal organizations. He was past president of the Kennebunk Rotary Club, a member of The American Legion, and a long-time member of the Arundel Yacht Club. In 1986 he was awarded the Grand Lodge of Maine 50-Year Ancient Free and Accepted Masons Veterans Medal. He was also among the first ten members of the Search and Rescue Unit of Kennebunk and a volunteer member of the Kennebunk Fire and Rescue Department in the 70s and 80s.
An avid outdoorsman, David enjoyed hunting and fishing throughout his lifetime. He especially enjoyed trips to his father-in-law Ben Tucker's camp at Round Pond, Maine. He was skilled at fly fishing and fished waters from the tip of South America to remote streams in Alaska. He travelled the Caribbean waters many times and visited Italy, the Mediterranean, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick on the Bay of Fundy, and Costa Rica with its two beautiful coastlines: the Caribbean and the Pacific. A memorable trip was by rail along the Canadian Rockies from Vancouver to Calgary.
David married Sandra Paul in April of 1959. They had two children, Kimberly Beth and Glenn Paul Angell. Daughter Kimberly Angell Pickering lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Her children are Hannah, a Neonatal Intensive Care RN, and her fiancé Kyle Palmer of Coral Springs, Fla; Meghan, a veterinarian, and husband Dustin Seymour of Greece, N.Y.; and Emily, beginning her second year as a fourth-grade math teacher, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Son Glenn passed away unexpectedly last July and is survived by his wife Sylvie Lemieux Angell and their son Caden Angell, who is preparing to begin his freshman year at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass. They live in Scarborough, Maine.
On Oct. 8, 1978, David married Elizabeth "Betty" Tucker Heikkinen who had two children, Darlene and Richard Heikkinen. Darlene lives in Winchester, Mass. with her husband William Davis. Their children are Holly, her husband Loren Tennent, and baby Gray of North Hampton, N.H.; Boone and Benjamin, both in Manhattan; and Olivia in Brooklyn, N.Y. Rick is married to Mary Catherine Heikkinen, and they live in Kennebunk. Their children are Will, preparing for an advance degree this fall; Sam, who graduated this year from St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., and now resides in Minneapolis-St. Paul; and Elizabeth, a junior at St. Lawrence University.
David, also known as Dad, Grampa, "Banca," Uncle Dave and Pops, loved his family, and they loved him. A life so fully lived also includes many friends, who, like his family, will dearly miss him.
A celebration of David's life will be Sunday, July 28, from 1 to 4 p.m. at The Nonantum Resort in Kennebunkport.