Obituary of Gerald L. Prentice

Gerald (Gerry) L. Prentice, 67, died on Wednesday, May 7, 2014, following a brief illness. He is survived by his wife Cora Prentice of Whitefield, ME; daughter Kristen Prentice of Silver Spring, MD; stepdaughters Jennifer Atkinson of Portland, ME, and Holly Laferte of Arcata, CA; sister Joy Prentice of Rio Rancho, NM; nephew David Prentice of Gloucester, MA; and grandson Laith Atkinson. He is predeceased by his parents Charles and Geraldine Prentice. He also leaves behind canine companions Bella and Piper, a Saint Bernard and a Pomeranian. Born in Concord, MA, on May 12, 1946, Gerry spent childhood summers on Maine’s Monhegan Island and later returned to live most of his adult life in Maine. He loved the state’s natural beauty and spent as much time as possible on or near the water. As a young man, Gerry served in the US Coast Guard, and he told many tales of his travels south to the steamy tropics and north in the frigid Nova Scotia winter. For several years Gerry owned a restaurant in Augusta where many of the neighborhood residents, who knew him well, ate daily. He later worked at the Maine Department of Agriculture where he took to the road as a health inspector across large swaths of Maine, a job well-suited to his gift for talking easily with people and making friends. Among his duties were trips by snowmobile to maple syrup distilleries in the wilds of Allagash where owners, suspicious of outsiders, came to respect him and welcome his return. Although he had an adventurous spirit, Gerry also valued a quiet life. He enjoyed simple things. He fished and was a Red Sox fan. He spent many happy afternoons listening to a game on the radio. He loved driving on the open road, especially during his days behind the wheel of a convertible or on his motorcycle. He was a tinkerer and good with his hands. He liked to work on classic cars and kept meticulous care of the antique grandfather clock built by a family clockmaker and handed down for generations. Gerry was a skilled guitar player and committed a fair amount of time to the somewhat unlikely task of learning to play the bagpipes. Gerry loved a good story and had an unfailing ability to see the funny side of the absurdities of life. He was quick to laugh, and his sense of humor will be remembered by everyone who knew him. Gerry cared for all creatures, great and small, and from an early age adopted strays. He valued his animal companions for their earnest joy and unquestioning loyalty. These, of course, were qualities his friends saw in him. A man of great heart, Gerry was known to his family as “one of the good ones.” He loved his family, and they loved him. Gerry’s family will host a celebration of his life later this summer. To request more details about this gathering, please e-mail gpcelebrationoflife@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the Kennebec Valley Humane Society: www.pethavenlane.org.