When I first moved back home several years ago it became my weekly habit to spend Saturday mornings in Houlton doing errands, hanging out at Carol’s yarn shop for a bit, and inevitably stopping at Sadie’s Bakery for a doughnut. It was through that Saturday doughnut that I got to know Tim and Sharon O’Donnell.
As any customer of Sadie’s knows, you never just went for the doughnuts. You went for the conversation too. Clad in his white apron and T-shirt, Tim would carry on energetic conversations either through the window peeking into the kitchen as he made doughnuts or, later in the morning, standing behind the counter to talk about anything and everything. He had strong opinions about it all, making for lively conversations.
This vibrant, passionate, caring, family man passed away in December, living his life to the utmost until the end. How to sum up a life lived so fully? He deeply loved his wife Sharon for 40 years and freely showed it to her and others. The same with his children and grandchildren.
Timmy faced his illness with dignity and made each day count. His farm was his life and he continued to buy and sell cattle, get hay in, fence, and all the other myriad chores associated with farm life. Family and friends helped out but Timmy was always there in the middle of it. He thought his little piece of Hodgdon was the most beautiful place on earth and the fact that his children and grandchildren lived just down the road from the farm made it simply perfect.
For the many who knew him, who doesn’t have one or several Timmy stories to tell? He was unique. As a supervisor on the SASWCD board since 2009, I don’t believe I ever saw him sit in a chair for a meeting length without getting excited about some topic and popping up and down like a jack in the box. As a livestock farmer, he had much experience but he was rare in that he still wanted to learn more. This extended beyond farming as well.
I’ll never forget his announcement to me a few years ago that he had watched a TV show on plastic bottles and was determined to never let another touch his lips again. From that day forward, he used mason jars as his water bottle on the tractor and in the field. Timmy teasingly called me a hippie but we held similar mindsets about farming and the environment. While I’m sure he never would have admitted that, it meant that we got along well and my husband and I relied on him for advice on farming equipment, raising steers, or any other farm-related topic.
He loved to share his experiences and was a ready helper in times of need. How many times in Lee-Rae Jordan’s “Dairy Adventures” column in the Pioneer Times did she mention a midnight call to Tim and Sharon to help with a difficult calving? The midnight assist would end in a 4 a.m. alarm to begin his day in the bakery to cook for people like me, for my uncle and his crew who met each morning at the same time for coffee break, for my nephew who would stop in for a doughnut and livestock chat, and to the hundreds of other regulars and community members.
All of us passed through Sadie’s door for doughnuts, yes, but also for a connection with the man behind the counter who touched each of our lives in a way special only to Timmy O’Donnell. Rest in peace, dear friend.
Angie Wotton loves her work as district manager for the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District. She also raises pastured pork and vegetables with her husband on their small West Berry Farm in Hammond. She can be reached at 532-9407 or via email at angela.wotton@me.nacdnet.net.
