Espling, Doris, 91, May 15, 2014. A graveside service will be held at New Sweden Cemetery at a later date this summer for family and friends. Arrangements by Lancaster Morgan Funeral Home, Caribou.
CARIBOU – Doris Espling, 91, a resident of Brooksby Village, Peabody, Mass., formerly of Caribou, ME, died on May 15, 2014. She was born in Portland, ME, on October 7, 1922, the beloved daughter of John and Hilda (Hedstrom) Espling.
Doris attended Caribou schools, graduating from Caribou High School with High Honors in the class of 1941. Active in high school, Doris was a member of the National Honor Society, class secretary and co-editor of the Arcturus and senior editor of the Reflector, her class Year Book.
Following High School, Doris and her mother moved to Bangor, where she attended Husson College, majoring in secretarial and business studies. Doris was employed in several secretarial positions in Caribou. She then gained employment at Loring Air Force Base, where she worked for 35 years. She ended her career at Loring as secretary for the Judge Advocate, for whom she worked for 17 years.
Doris will be remembered in Caribou for commitment to the Gray Memorial Methodist Church. She was also active in the Caribou Choral Society. She demonstrated her interest in her Swedish heritage through her membership in the New Sweden Historical Society and the Maine Swedish Colony.
Doris enjoyed the 12 years that she spent at Brooksby Village in Peabody, Mass., where she made many friends. In her last few years, Doris was convinced that the Brooksby staff were all from her beloved Caribou. Staff and residents went along gamely with the fiction. In her last days, the nursing and support staff at Brooksby were outstanding, treating Doris as their “baby”. She relied on her cousin, Glenice (Espling) Kelley and her husband, Gaylen, for support during her move to Massachusetts and her years at Brooksby.
She will be remembered by her many cousins and friends in Caribou and New Sweden, ME, as well as the residents and staff at Brooksby Village.
A graveside service will be held at New Sweden Cemetery at a later date this summer for family and friends. Online condolences may be expressed at www.lancastermorgan.com.
