Arthur J. Mraz

     MRAZ, Arthur J., 89, FORT FAIRFIELD, January 5, 2014. A memorial service will be announced at a later date. Arrangements are in the care of Giberson-Dorsey Funeral Home, Fort Fairfield.

     FORT FAIRFIELD – Arthur J. Mraz, 89, a retired businessman and University of Maine System official, died peacefully Sunday morning January 5, 2014, at his Fort Fairfield residence. He was born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin on January 26, 1924, the son Joseph A. and Emma (Rimple) Mraz. 
    A veteran of World War II, he enlisted from the University of Wisconsin in 1943 in the United States Army and served as a combat engineer in the Pacific Theater of Operations. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering, he obtained an MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1949 and did doctoral studies in higher education administration at Boston University. He also did graduate study at Tufts University and the University of Maine. Associated with various campuses of the University of Maine System, Mraz was a professor at the University of Maine at Presque Isle and later served for many years as vice president for business and financial affairs. During the formation of the University of Maine System in 1969, he served as co-financial officer, handling all the former state colleges. In the years prior to his retirement from the system in 1984, he served as statewide project director for the student loan study, developing unification and policy reports, which were accepted and implemented by the University Maine Board of Trustees. Active in various professional organizations, he was a member of the National Association of College and University Business Officers, a coordinator of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems and president of the Aroostook Schoolmaster Club. He was the founding treasurer and a board member of the Foundation of the University at Presque Isle. Students made him an honorary member of Kappa Delta Phi Fraternity while at UMPI, and he was active in the Presque Isle Rotary Club.
    Always interested in community, he served as chairman of the United Parish Church Board, director of the Fort Fairfield Community General Hospital, Fort Fairfield Housing Authority, United Fund, Resource, Conservation and Development Steering Committee, Northern Maine Management Planning Committee, Aroostook Medical Center Health Care Foundation, United States Air Force Association and Maine-Loring Association. For many years he served on the Board of Directors as well as the Advisory Board of the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland. A long-term trustee of the Fort Fairfield Public Library, he did much work toward the planning and building of the new wing. He served as chairman of the Riverfront Park project during the Maine Street ’90 program. Of all his retirement activities, he will be especially remembered for his work with the elderly and other in the Internal Revenue Service Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program and Tax Counseling for the Elderly. He was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award by the IRS for his outstanding work in this field. In recent years he served as a director and active member of the Frontier Heritage Historical Society working on the restoration of the Friends Church. He and his wife Ruth were named Fort Fairfield’s Citizens of the year for 2004, and the 58th Potato Blossom Festival booklet was dedicated to them by the Maine Potato Blossom Festival Committee. The 122nd  Maine Legislature presented the Mrazes with a Legislative Sentiment Award for outstanding service to their community.
    He enjoyed having visitors to the Hosta gardens and took great pride in showing the plants that he had registered with the American Hosta Society.
    In addition to his parents, Mr. Mraz is predeceased by his wife, Ruth Reed Mraz of Fort Fairfield whom he married August 7, 1948. He is survived by one son and daughter-in-law, Randall R. and Mary J. Mraz, Freeport; one daughter and son-law, Dr. Nancy and Dr. Andrew C.G. Armstrong, Campton, NH; one brother, Russell L. Mraz, Manitowoc, WI; three granddaughters, Emily Mraz, Los Angeles, CA, Melinda Eva (Mraz) Barber and husband, Matthew C. Barber, Boston, MA, Addie Armstrong, Campton, NH; one grandson, 2nd Eng. Alexander Armstrong, Campton, NH; several nieces and nephews and cousins.
    A memorial service will be announced at a later date. Spring interment will take place at Riverside Cemetery, Fort Fairfield. Friends who wish may contribute to the Maine Community Foundation, Ruth Reed Mraz Family Memorial Fund, 245 Main Street, Ellsworth, Maine 04605 or at www.maincf.org. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Giberson-Dorsey Funeral Home, 144 Main Street, Fort Fairfield. Online condolences may be expressed at www.gibersondorseyfuneral home.com.