Obituary of Constance R. Hanscom

Constance R. Hanscom Bangor & Ellsworth - Constance R. Hanscom, wife of the late Albert E. Hanscom, died November 17, 2016 in Bangor during her one hundredth year. A native of Ellsworth, Maine, she moved with her family during high school to the New York City area, where she and Al met and later raised their family. She attended Mount Holyoke College, received a BA from Hunter College, and a Master’s in Library Science from Queens College, NY. After receiving her MLS, she studied Russian at Hofstra University. She was a retired librarian of the Bellmore-Merrick High School District, Long Island, N.Y., having begun her career at the elementary level. Fitting for a librarian, Constance was a voracious reader of fiction and non-fiction alike. Constance’s early interest in local Maine history spurred a lifelong pursuit of genealogy. In the decades before internet research she crisscrossed Maine and New England to visit country cemeteries, old churches, county courthouses, and town halls. She discovered she was descended from the first settlers of Ellsworth, Mount Desert, and Deer Isle. In her family she also found four Mayflower passengers and five Revolutionary War soldiers. She compiled and published family histories of three of her grandparents: Ancestors and Descendants of Josiah Garland and Miriam Moore, Descendants of Charles & Mary Chatto, and Ancestors and Descendants of James Garcelon and Deliverance Annis. She donated copies of these reference works to libraries across Maine and the United States. Her articles have been published in genealogical journals, and she translated material for the American-Canadian Genealogist. After retiring to Massachusetts where she had lived for a time as a child, she had the opportunity to travel the world and to research genealogy abroad. (Some favorite stories included visiting Scrooby, England from whence the Pilgrims came, meeting in person frequent correspondents and distant relatives in France, climbing into the pyramid of Giza, and seeing the underground chambers of the terra cotta warriors in China.) While at home, she was a dedicated volunteer. The Mayflower Society recognized her for outstanding service in cataloging their library on Newbury Street, Boston. She was also a volunteer for ten years at the Federal Archives in Waltham, MA and at The State House in Boston before the MA vital records were moved to Columbia Point in Boston. As a recent widow she began a new life on St. Thomas where she resided near her son for ten years during the winter months. Always active, she gardened, swam, and kept the rapid tropical plant growth in check. A lover of classical music, she played the trumpet and the piano, and sang in church choirs. An avid gardener, in her early nineties she still planted and tended her outdoor gardens. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and was a member of the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, Daughters of the American Revolution, Maine Society of Genealogists, New England Historic Genealogical Society, and Maine Old Cemetery Association. Grandmother of nine, great-grandmother of eight, she is survived by her three children and their families: Richard Hanscom (Richard Jr., Kenneth, Jeffery, Karin Pinkham, and Kristin Renbarger); Roger Hanscom (Andrew and Benjamin) and his wife Alla; Nancy Davis and her husband Mark (Elizabeth Smith and Matthew). She also leaves several nieces, a nephew, and their families. Her family deeply appreciates the care and support given to Constance in her final year by staff and caregivers at Boyd Place, the Sylvia Ross Home, Ross Manor – Waterman, Aging Excellence, and Hospice of Eastern Maine, and we extend our heartfelt thanks to all. Family and friends may visit 2 – 5 PM Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016 at Kiley & Foley Funeral Service, 299 Union St., Bangor. A graveside service and burial next to her husband, and near where her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents are interred will be held 11 AM Monday, Nov. 21, 2016 at Juniper Cemetery, Route 179, Ellsworth Falls with the Rev. Mary Angela Davis of Union Congregational Church, presiding. Her last wishes to all who knew her are found in Numbers 6:24-26. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Hospice of Eastern Maine, P.O. Box 931, Bangor 04402-0931; New England Historic Genealogical Society, 99-101 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02116-3007; Maine Old Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 641, Augusta, ME 04332-0641, or to a charity of your choice. Messages and memories may be shared with her family at kileyandfoley.com.