Obituary of Gracia Isabel Berrocal

Gracia Isabel Berrocal passed away as a result of injuries she sustained when her car ran off Route 7 in Brooks on the evening of May 1. Gracia was born to Florence Larkin in Buffalo, New York on March 1, 1948. She grew up in New York and Colorado. She was married to Francis A. King on April 2, 1972 in Denver, Colorado. They were divorced in 1987. She attended CW Post College for four years, where she studied philosophy. Gracia was avidly interested in many things, in particular health and medical issues, and became an advocate for prenatal care and thyroid treatment. She is survived by her beloved son, Colin Guthrie King, his wife Dorothée, and two grandchildren, Basil (three) and Fransje (one and a half), of Berlin, Germany, five sisters: María Gabriela Alvarado (Panama City, Panama), Donna Hightower (Bangor, Maine), Lourdes MacEwan (West Allis, Wisconsin), Laura Hammond (Grass Valley, California) and Amy Lisette Cooke (Nevada City, California), and one brother, Rubén Berrocal Timmons (Panama City, Panama), as well as many nephews and nieces. Gracia was predeceased by her sister Sheila (Cricket)Dolan. Gracia leaves behind a circle of close friends who will miss her greatly. She came to Waldo County as part of the back to the land movement and lived on her 26 acre homestead in Jackson since 1977. She worked as a cook in area restaurants, and later at the Monroe Salt Works. At the time of her death she was employed as a caregiver in a home for developmentally disabled adults, the Katherine Brown Home in Hope, Maine. Gracia learned later in life that she had family in Panama, and was warmly welcomed by her father, Jaime Berrocal, as well as her sisters and brother. In 2009 Gracia attended the inauguration in Panama City of her cousin President Ricardo Martinelli. Gracia loved good humor, the world of ideas, and caring for others. She lives on as a person in those who knew her. Memorial Gathering will be held in Gracia’s memory on Friday, May 11, 2012 from 4-7PM at Riposta Funeral Home, 182 Waldo Ave, Belfast, Maine.