PORTLAND — Edna Mildred Menchen, 94, died March 10 at Mercy Hospital.

Menchen lived a long and wonderful life, dedicated to her family, her church and her community.

Born April 27, 1917, in Pownal, she was the daughter of Claude and Villa Fogg Snow. She was proud to have been born and lived her whole live in Pownal. In 1937, she married Edward Menchen, a marriage that lasted until his death in 1990. 

She had a strong faith in God and was active in the Pownal Congregational Church right up until her final years. She was a member of the Ladies Aid, church treasurer and one of the stalwarts of the famous Pownal church suppers – her rhubarb pies were a particular favorite. She was a member of the Eastern Star and an assistant 4-H Club Leader. 

Menchen served as Pownal’s town treasurer for five years, town clerk for 26 years, registrar of voters for 21 years and tax collector for 11 years. In March 2002, she received a 26-year service award for serving on these boards. In 1996, the town dedicated the Annual Town Report to her. She was also a member of the Pownal Scenic and Historical Society.

In 1991 she received the first North Pownal Community Club Service Award and in 2002 she received official recognition from the State of Maine Legislature. 

Menchen was blessed with a green thumb. An early advocate of organic farming methods, she understood the benefits of composting. She took delight in receiving seed catalogs in the dead of winter and planning her gardens. She was very interested in the local efforts to document Pownal’s floral heritage and passed along many of her plants and seeds to those in the community. A longtime member of the Granite Grange, she assisted in setting up the Grange harvest exhibits at the Cumberland Fair and was the recipient of numerous ribbons for her produce, canned goods and needlework.

She worked for many years at Freeport Shoe and Eastland Shoe.

She had many intellectual interests and was valedictorian of her graduating class from North Yarmouth Academy. She had a passion for word games and puzzles and loved sewing, making quilts for family and clothes for six during WWII rationing. She was a Maine State Grange dress-making winner.

Besides her parents and husband, Menchen was predeceased by two brothers, Lawrence Snow and Carlton Snow, and her son-in-law, Leslie Avann.

She is survived by her six children, Patricia Menchen of Citrus Springs, Fla., Sheila Merritt and her husband, Alan, of Texas and Orono, Sandra Puckett of Falmouth, Michael Menchen and his wife, Jacquelin, of Portland, Wendy Avann of Hooksett, N.H. and Gary and his wife, Margaret, of Cambridge, Mass. and Waterville; eight grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

Visiting hours were held on March 13 at Lindquist Funeral Home, 1 Mayberry Ln., Yarmouth followed by funeral services on March 14 at the funeral home. 

In lieu of flowers, memorial contribution may be made to the First Parish Congregational Church of Pownal, 422 Hallowell Road., Pownal, ME 03069.