William E. A. Smythe
SMYTHE, William E. A., 57, Presque Isle, at Bangor, January 21, 2011. Funeral services will be held 1 p.m., Wed., January 26, 2011, at Duncan Graves Funeral Home. A reception will follow the service. Arrangements in the care of Duncan-Graves Funeral Home, Presque Isle.
PRESQUE ISLE – William E. A. “Bill” Smythe, 57, died Friday night, January 21, 2011, at a Bangor hospital, after an extended illness. He was born in Calais on April 4, 1953, the son of Henry C. and Helen E. (Algar) Smythe. He graduated from Calais Memorial High School in 1971, and graduated with a B.S. degree from Lowell Technical Institute in 1975.
Bill came to Presque Isle in 1975, and worked for the Nissen Baking Co. In 1977, he started working for Milliken Tomlinson Co. and was in charge of retail marketing of all IGA stores south of Presque Isle. In 1980, Bill acquired the First National Store in Presque Isle and opened it as North Plaza IGA Food liner. In 1990, he moved the store to the old Zayre’s location and named it Smythe’s IGA Plus. He presently owns three Save-A-Lot stores, Caribou, Farmington and Brewer. Bill was very active in the community. He was a member and past President of the P.I. Rotary Club, Presque Isle Chamber of Commerce, Industrial Council, and the Northern Maine Fair Assn. He was a member and Vice Chairman of The Aroostook Medical Center, member of the Board of Directors of the P.I. Snowmobile Club, The Aroostook County Federal Savings & Loan Assn., member of P.I. Elks, and Fish & Game Club. Bill was voted 1994 Presque Isle Citizen of the Year, and was the recipient of the 1996 P.I. Rotary Paul Harris Fellowship Award.
He is survived by his wife, Peggy (Quigley) Smythe of Presque Isle; two sisters, Catherine Carson and her husband, Kenneth of Robbinston, and Susan Smythe of Portland; several nieces and nephews, and many special friends.
He was predeceased by his parents.
Friends called 7-9 p.m., Tuesday, at the Duncan-Graves Funeral Home, 30 Church St., Presque Isle, where funeral services will be held 1 p.m., Wednesday, January 26, 2011, with the Dr. Rev. Robert Grove Markwood officiating. Following the service, a reception will be held in the gathering area of the funeral home. Spring interment will be in Fairmount Cemetery. Donations may be made in his memory to County Dialysis, 21 North Street, Presque Isle, ME 04769, or to The National Kidney Foundation of Maine, 630 Congress St., PO Box 1134, Portland, ME 04104-1134. Online condolences may be expressed at duncan-graves.com
