SOUTH PORTLAND — Eleanor (Butler) Lovely, 89, died peacefully Dec. 27 at South Portland Nursing Home.
She was born Jan. 18, 1920 in Lynn, Mass., the daughter of Dorothy Carleton and Howard Ellsworth Butler.
After the death of her father in 1934, she and her family moved to Maine, settling in Gardiner in 1936.
In 1941 she graduated as a Registered Nurse from MA Memorial Hospital and worked primarily as a private duty nurse.
On June 13, 1942, she married the love of her life, David Kincaid Lovely.
When he finished medical school in 1946 they moved to Portland where he established his medical practice.
After the birth of her two daughters, she became a full-time mother and was very involved with their activities.
A selfless and humble person, she always found time for charitable work, including reading for books that were recorded for the blind, volunteering with the Women’s Auxiliary to Cumberland County Medical Society, and serving as a past president of the Woodfords Club Women’s Auxiliary.
After her daughters had grown, she worked in her husband’s medical office until they both retired in 1989.
She and David were married for 67 very happy years, until his death on Oct. 22, 2009. They lived in their home in Portland for 56 years and loved their many years of boating on Casco Bay and traveling in their trailer after retiring.
Besides her husband, she was also predeceased by her brother David, and son-in-law Johnny Perkins.
Surviving are her two daughters, Carolyn Perkins, and Suzanne Friel and partner Dana Clark; three grandchildren, Nicole, Abby and James Perkins; great-grandson Zeek Perkins; sister-in-law Beth Lovely; three nephews, Andy and Steve Lovely and Mike Toth, and two nieces, Caroline Usher and Patty Ray.
Visiting hours will be held on Thursday, Dec. 31 from 11 a.m.-noon at Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Road, South Portland. Funeral services will begin at noon at the Funeral Home.
Memorial donations may be made to the National Kidney Foundation of Maine, 470 Forest Ave., Portland, ME 04101-2009.
Sidebar Elements
Lovely
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.