Cherry B. Danker

    PORTAGE LAKE – Cherry (Bolstridge) Danker, 75, died Nov. 26, 2007 at her Presque Isle residence after a lengthy battle with a bone marrow disease. She was born at Portage Lake, June 26, 1932, the daughter of Albert Stanley and Mildred (Hathaway) Bolstridge.      She was a graduate of Ashland High School and the Aroostook School of Commerce in Presque Isle.  Her career life included working as a secretary for the Ashland Superintendent of Schools, followed by 34 years of employment with the Veterans Administration, Office of Construction in Washington, D.C. With the VA she held several secretarial positions of increasing rank and rose to become secretary to the head of the Office of Construction.  
    In the early 1970’s  she left the secretarial field to become administrative assistant, staff assistant, and executive assistant where she developed considerable expertise in construction management and as a program analyst.  In 1980 she was promoted and became the first highest ranking female executive in the Office of Construction and served as a member of the top staff of a male-oriented organization with over 800 employees consisting of professional architects, engineers, and support staff. This was the largest program of federally-funded hospital design and construction in the world with annual appropriation levels averaging over 500 million dollars.  In this latter role, she served as a liaison with the White House and Congressional Staffs and the Presidential transition teams.  She was involved in the major decision making and implementation processes of policies and procedures for effectively carrying out the VA’s design and construction program goals and responsibilities.  Her decision packages for top staff review and approval covered a wide range of diversified subjects, including the VA earthquake engineering program, the VA environmental impact program, VA’s asbestos removal program, incorporating spinal injury facilities in the VA hospital designs, and the VA cemetery construction programs.  Cherry was the author of a VA brochure, distributed to private architect/engineer firms throughout the country, which outlined procedures governing the selection of such firms for VA design contracts, a project which earned the VA a commendation from the American Institute of Architects.  
She developed legislative proposals governing the procurement of hospital design and construction contracts and was instrumental in the implementation of the resulting enacted laws.  She assisted in the development or performed the editing of technical articles published in magazines such as Architectural Record and Engineering News Record which brought world-wide attention and recognition to the VA for its advances in hospital building technology.  
    Cherry retired in 1986 from her GS-15 Program Analyst position and returned to her hometown of Portage Lake.  She was active in community affairs and served several terms on the Board of Directors of the Portage Lake Association.  She also served on the town’s Budget Committee and for brief periods on the town’s Planning Board.  She pursued creative writing endeavors by attending writing courses and workshops at UMFK and UMPI.  She was a participant in the UMFK Writers’ Group and the Caribou Writers’ Roundtable.  Numerous of her memoirs, essays, and short works of fiction appeared in The Northern Line, published by UMFK, and in Echoes, the Northern Maine Journal of Rural Culture. She was included in the Central Aroostook County Cultural Directory published by the Maine Arts Commission, a “Who’s Who” guide of cultural resources in the area.  She was the author of the history, cultural background and cultural resources sections of the Portage Lake Tourist Information Booklet published by the Portage Lake Planning Board.  She was a member of Elderhostel and attended several of its programs.  She was also a member of Common Boundary, an organization of theologians, environmentalists, psychotherapists, and others interested, who explore the interface between psychotherapy and spirituality, and represented northern Maine at its 1991 national conference in Washington, D.C.  
    Her church affiliations through her lifetime included the Buffalo Community Church at Portage Lake, the Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Arlington, VA, the Portage Lake Congregational Church, and the Union Congregational Church in Ashland.  She was a member of the LeBlanc-Junkins VFW Auxiliary, Unit 9699 of Ashland.  
    Cherry is survived by one sister, Alice Bolstridge of Presque Isle; three brothers, Stanley Bolstridge of Lower Knoxford, N.B., Canada; Bruce Bolstridge of Houston, TX, and Nelson Bolstridge of Portage Lake; three step-daughters, Michelle Varis of Tarpon Springs, FL, Debbie Danker of Tampa, FL, and Leslie Kutlik of Scotch Plains, NJ; two step-sons, Mark Danker of Tampa, FL, Pete Danker of Fort Mills, SC; numerous nieces, nephews, and several step-grandchildren.  She will also be missed by a special friend, Rudi Buitron of Portage Lake.  In addition to her parents, Cherry was predeceased by her husband, Billy Danker, her brother, Rodney Bolstridge, her stepfather, Robert Fullerton, and her step-daughter, Cherie Elliott.  
    Relatives and friends called at the Stimson-Ouellette Funeral Home, 114 Exchange St., Ashland, from 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday.  A funeral service was held at the Union Congregational Church at 11 a.m. on Saturday with Pastor Nathan Gardiner officiating.  Spring interment will be in the Portage Lake Municipal Cemetery.  Those who wish may contribute in her memory to the American Cancer Society, New England Division, Inc., 30 Speen St., PO Box 9376, Framingham, MA  01701-9376.  To leave on-line condolences, please visit www.ouellettefuneralhome.com.