JOANNE RAFUSE ESSE HOULTON AND PRESQUE ISLE – Joanne Rafuse Esse, 85, daughter of the late Stafford and Bernice (Royal) Rafuse, left us to join the angels on Saturday, March 25, 2017 at a Houlton health care facility. She was born November 15, 1931, in Hodgdon, in the same farmhouse her mother was born and raised in.
She graduated from Hodgdon High School and attended Mt. Ida Junior College in Massachusetts. She was very proud of the time spent employed as an airline stewardess with Eastern Airlines, where she was based out of Miami, Florida. Jo retired from Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in1987, and she and her husband, Paul, built a retirement home in Compass Lake, Florida. After the passing of her husband, Joanne lived in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia before returning “home” to Maine.
Joanne is survived by her daughter, Kimberly (Martin) Smith and her husband, Chris of Presque Isle, Maine; a brother, Burton Rafuse and his wife, Jan of the Seattle, Washington area; a niece and several nephews and their families.
A graveside service will be conducted 11 A.M. Saturday, May 20, 2017, at the Hodgdon Cemetery, with the Rev. Victor Han officiating. The family invites relatives and friends to the United Methodist Church in Houlton, for a time of refreshment following the service.
In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in Joanne’s memory to the Presque Isle Historical Society, c/o Dunn Funeral Home, 11 Park St., Houlton, ME 04730.
Arrangements in care of Dunn Funeral Home. Online condolences and guest book: dunnfuneral.com
