YARMOUTH — Charles Sumner Libby, 96, a resident of Yarmouth for over 70 years, died Feb. 27 of complications from pneumonia at the Osher Inn Assisted Living Center in Portland.

One of 10 children of Stephen and Marcia Libby, he was born in Pownal. Growing up on a farm during the Great Depression, he learned at an early age the values of family, hard work and helping others, lessons he remembered over the course of his life.

A member of the Class of 1936 at North Yarmouth Academy, Libby later served with the Yarmouth Rescue team for many years, and was a member of the Yarmouth Men’s Club. He was also an active Shriner for over 50 years, a 32nd-degree Mason, and an active member of the First Parish Congregational Church in Yarmouth. Even in his early 90s, he worked 12-hour days for the church during the annual Clam Festival. He was also a life member of the John Libby Family Association.

Libby retired from Central Maine Power in 1984. In his free time, he enjoyed playing golf with his friends, working in his vegetable garden, taking trips to see family, and especially spending time with them at “Libby Camp,” the cottage he and his wife built on the shores of Sebago Lake. In his later years, he also enjoyed visits with friend Betty Pierce and her family in Arizona, and hosting her during the summer months in Maine.

Libby was predeceased in 1999 by his wife of 59 years, Beverly Beatrice Libby, and by his great-granddaughter, Caroline Libby Kane.

He is survived by his daughters, Sharon Libby Sharp and husband, Ted, of Cumberland Foreside, and Sheila Libby Alexander and husband, Bill, of Cape Elizabeth. He is also survived by four grandchildren: Hannah Kane, husband Jim and children Madison, Caitlin and Patrick; Todd Sharp, fiancée Chelsie Vega and son Jacob; Patrick Sharp and Beka Wetzel, and grandson Adrian Alexander. In addition, he is survived by two of his sisters, Shirley Cass, of Newhall, California, and Dorothy Wallace Kilpatrick, of Brunswick; and by Karola Brackenbury, of Hastings, New Zealand, a former exchange student who became a close member of the extended Libby family.

Visitation was held March 6 at Lindquist Funeral Home, in Yarmouth, and a funeral followed on March 7 at First Parish Congregational Church. A private burial will be held in the spring in Elmwood Cemetery, Pownal.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to The Jimmy Fund to support research and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284, or to Skyline Farm Carriage Museum in North Yarmouth, for the preservation of the Libby Sleigh, at Skyline Farm, P.O. Box 144, Yarmouth, ME 04096.

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