DONALD LAWRENCE AKELEY PRESQUE ISLE – Donald Lawrence Akeley, 73, passed away on March 14, 2017, at a Presque Isle Health Care facility. He was born on October 5, 1943, in Caribou, Maine, the only child of the late Carroll W. and Marion (Gillespie) Akeley.
Don graduated from Presque Isle High School in 1961 and went on to attend the Saint John Vocational School in Saint John, New Brunswick, where he studied to become a mechanic, a career choice he enjoyed for over 40 years.
Don enjoyed his garden, traveling and attending state fairs and rodeos, snowmobiling and grooming trails, tinkering with small engines and anything having to do with tractors… Farmall that is… not the green ones.
He was a member of the Presque Isle Snowmobile club, the Caribou Snowmobile club and the Easton Snowmobile club, the Antique Tractor club, he served on the class reunion committee and was a participant for many years in both the Canadian and American tractor pulling events.
Don was best known for his quick wit, his generous nature, being a man of his word, his helping hand and his “can do” attitude. He loved a good joke, sharing stories of the past and he became instant friends with anyone he met.
Don is survived by his life partner of 30 years and his travel companion, Joann Brown, his four children: William (Bill) Akeley and fiancé Tracy Barnes, David J. Akeley and wife Laura, Margo Dyer and husband Geoffrey, Rebecca Jurovich and husband Peter; his grandchildren: Brandon Akeley, Haleigh Dyer, Miarandah Akeley, Spencer Carter, David G. Akeley, Andrew Dyer, Peter Jurovich, III, Amanda Jurovich, Sara Jurovich, Leila Jurovich; and his two special “future farmer” great-grandchildren, Bently and Jack.
Friends and family called from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, March 18, 2017, at Duncan-Graves Funeral Home, 30 Church Street in Presque Isle, where a funeral service was held at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, those wishing to remember Don in a special way are encouraged to make a gift to the snowmobile clubs he belonged to or the Antique Tractor Club in his memory. Online condolences may be expressed at www.duncan-graves.com
