Obituary of Eva Thompson

Camden, ME. Eva Phillips Thompson, 58, died December 29, 2017, a little over four years after being diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer. During that time she was able to live a full and happy life that included celebrating the marriages of her two children, Cayla and Neil, birth of her grandson, Oliver, travels to Ireland, gardening, visiting all five of the Lost Bird Project sculptures, and being with family and friends as much as possible. Ordained as an Interfaith Community Minister in 2010, she officiated weddings and memorial services around Maine, and gave insightful sermons at area Unitarian Universalist churches. She also served as a Spiritual Care Volunteer at the Knox Center in Rockland. Active in the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Maine, she gave many educational talks to local groups (“anyone who would listen!”) about “green burial” and how to keep funeral costs low, and considered these to be one of the most rewarding things she did in her life. In her final years she was an outspoken proponent of aid-in-dying legislation, which she felt would have given her and her family reassurance of a more peaceful exit. Amid a life sufficiently full of travel and adventure, Eva always felt that natural childbirth and being able to stay home raising her two children were the greatest adventures of her life. She dabbled in all kinds of art and enjoyed local figure drawing and watercolor painting classes. She was a stone carver and sold bird sculptures to benefit the Friends of Maine Seabird Islands in Rockland. She loved the smell and sound of autumn leaves, the feel and sound of smooth rocks, and any green ferny place. She appreciated clear thinking and clear writing, and was always happiest when in a kayak. Born in Rochester, NY, she attended Pittsford schools and graduated from the University of Idaho in 1981. She and her family lived in Yarmouth, Maine, for twenty years, where Eva was a nursery school teacher and an active volunteer in the Yarmouth schools and the First Universalist Church. After becoming ordained through the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine in Portland, she and Mike returned to Camden, where they had previously lived before having children. She leaves her husband, Michael Thompson of Camden; daughter Cayla Miller and her husband David and their son Oliver of Belfast; son Neil Thompson and his wife Kirsten of Fort Kent; Sister Carol P. Whitt and her spouse Lindsay Cole of Columbus, OH; brother Jay Phillips and his wife Kathy of Groveland, NY; and brother John Phillips and his wife Linda of Fairport, NY; as well as many wonderful nephews, nieces, and their families. She hated to leave them all, as well as her beloved friends. Much gratitude goes to the fine folks at the Cancer Care Unit at PBMC, Rockland, for helping Eva maintain a high qualify of life through her illness. There will be no formal service but friends can think of her whenever doing the outdoor activities that she loved.