Obituary of Floyd R. Lenfest

Floyd Roy Lenfest CARMEL - Floyd "Skip" Roy Lenfest, 86, of Carmel, Maine died peacefully Sunday evening, December 27, 2015 at home after a brief illness. He was born March 21, 1929 in Old Town, the son of Floyd Roosevelt Lenfest and Viola H. Smith. From the time he was born Floyd answered to the name of Skip, a pet name given to him by his mother and father. After the death of his father when Skip was only 5 years old, the family moved to Bangor to live with his mother’s parents. After four years they were able to buy their own home which happened to be only a few houses down the street from his grandparent’s house. Skip often joked that he would eat a meal at home and then go down the street and eat a second meal at his grandparents’ house. Skip was a hard worker. At about the age of 10 he obtained a part time job delivering the Bangor Daily News. At the age of 14 he was working after school loading trucks for the Coca Cola Company. Once he had his driver’s license he began making deliveries for the company during the summer. He worked for Coke all through High School (graduating in 1947 from Bangor High) as well as the following year. He often said that it was his job at Coke which kept him out of trouble. In 1948 he joined the Army and was stationed at Augusta, Georgia. He received his discharge papers in February of 1950 and he and his first wife Agnes returned to Bangor. His first daughter, Pamela, was born that same year. Skip worked in sales for a variety of companies until he obtained the position of bookkeeper at Wirthmore Feeds in early 1951. He divorced soon thereafter. In the latter part of 1952, he met the love of his life Kathleen (Kay) Sutton and they were married on December 5th, 1952. They lived happily in an apartment in Hampden for the first few years of their marriage where their son, Skip Jr. was born. With great excitement they bought their first house on Dexter Street in Bangor where their next two children, Carol and Chris were born. During this time, Skip became manager of Wirthmore Feeds and remained in that position until the closing of the store in 1965. In 1962, they purchased land on Eastern Avenue in Brewer and built their family home where they resided for 26 years. Their youngest daughter Lisa was born there. During their time on the avenue, Skip worked for Soule Glass briefly, then Bird & Son as a Sales Rep for the Northern part of the State of Maine and eventually co-founded his own company, American Nameplate, with wife Kay in 1978. The company specialized in various types of engraving and signage for local businesses. They were very successful and at age 65, Skip retired, Kay had retired the year before, selling the business to his oldest daughter Pamela. In their retirement, they purchased 70+ acres of land in Carmel, Maine and set about building their dream retirement home. Once the home was completed, Skip spent most of his time down in the woods clearing the back part of the property. Their property in Carmel was beautiful and many visitors declared it to be like heaven on earth. The sunrises and sunsets were unparalleled and the beauty of the grounds including a pond, fields and forests was magnificent. Skip was truly at peace here and nothing pleased him more than to spend time puttering around his property. Skip was the ultimate entrepreneur and always had a scheme or idea up his sleeve on how to add to his income and tried his hand at many different business ventures over the years. He and his wife Kathleen (Kay) were married for over 55 years. After her death in 2008, he was devastated and heartbroken. He had lost his lifelong friend and companion. He often said that she saved him and could never figure out what she saw in him as he had virtually nothing when they met. While in grief counseling he met his friend Charlotte Steeves and they formed a special friendship built on their mutual losses. They were able to find companionship with each other, reminisce about their spouses and enjoy new adventures. Skip was a lifetime member of the Blue Lodge Masons and the Anah Temple Shrine Club of Bangor, Maine. He will be missed greatly by his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Floyd is survived by his sons Floyd Roy Lenfest Jr. of Phoenix, Arizona and Christopher J. Lenfest and his wife Jody (Theriault) of Hebron, Ohio. His daughters Carol Ann Somers of Deltona, Florida and Lisa Janine Mayo and her husband Eric of South Portland, Maine. Twelve grandchildren: Jeffrey Lee, Jeremy, Michael, Robert, Floyd Roy III, Samuel, Aaron, Melissa, Shannon, Cody, Casey and Madeline. Nine great grandchildren: Jeffrey Aiden, Dashel, Lincoln, Chance, Kaleb, Ian, Isabella, Bryce and Izayiah. And his special friend Charlotte Steeves. He was preceded in death by his parents Floyd Roosevelt Lenfest and Viola H. Smith, his brother Eugene Leslie Lenfest, his sister Anne Marie Lenfest (Thibodeau), his first wife Agnes Tuttle, his second wife, the love of his life, Kathleen Jean Sutton, his son Herbert Gove and his daughter Pamela Jo Lenfest Martin Clune. Family and friends may visit 3-5 PM Friday, January 1, 2016 at Kiley & Foley Funeral Service, 299 Union St., Bangor concluding with a Masonic memorial service at 4:30. Private interment will be at Mt. Hope Cemetery, Bangor. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Skip’s memory can be made to the Shriners Hospitals for Children.