A former teacher and selectman in Buxton, Jonathan D. Jewett died last week when his tractor-trailer overturned on the River Road in Buxton.

Police said Jewett, 59, of Buxton died after losing control of the tractor-trailer hauling sand at 8:34 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3.

The death of Jewett, a former Buxton selectman, stunned and saddened the town. His father, Frank Jewett II, on Monday wasn’t emotionally able to go to the accident site and didn’t know how it happened.

“I don’t know the particulars and I don’t want to know,” his father said.

Jewett said his son, a successful businessman, was driving a new tractor, hauling a trailer load of sand. “He was a hustler and worked hard,” his father said.

Jonathan Jewett assisted his father, who owns 1,000 acres in York County, developing property into housing over the years. He founded his own excavating company, Tri-J Enterprises, about 30 years ago.

“He was magical around equipment,” his father said, recalling his son’s expertise.

On the day of the accident, Jonathan Jewett had loaded up his dump trailer at Poland Spring and was heading for the Old Orchard Road, according to his sister, Meredeth Libby of Hollis. His tractor-trailer rolled over within a half mile of his home.

Buxton Police Officer Kimberly L. Emery, who was the first to arrive, said Jewett of 333 River Road was pronounced dead at the scene. Emery said Jewett owned the rig, which flipped onto its side. The police report said the tractor-trailer was traveling east on River Road when Jewett lost control, rolling over into the ditch.

No other vehicles were involved in the accident. Emery said speed appeared to be a factor in the accident.

But Libby doubted that speed was a factor in the accident. She thought her brother might have suffered a heart attack or a stroke. “He was a good driver,” she said.

Jonathan Jewett graduated from Bonny Eagle High School in 1964. In school, he was a varsity player driven to win. He played basketball, baseball, soccer and cross-country.

“He was a leading athlete and still holds a state track record,” his father said. “He loved a race. He was out to win fair and square, get out front and stay there.”

As a student, Jewett set high academic standards for himself, too. After high school, he went to Bates College in Lewiston and graduated with honors from Yankton College in South Dakota. He represented the third consecutive generation in his family to become a teacher.

He followed his dad and grandfather, Frank Jewett, a long ago principal of Buxton High School. The name of a present day Buxton elementary school honors his grandfather.

After teaching history, social studies and math for seven years in Attleboro, Mass., Jonathan Jewett returned home to Buxton. “He loved Buxton,” his sister said. “He had a great joy of life. He was enthused about everything.”

He was a family man with a son, Josh Jewett of Buxton, and a daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Ernest Granillo of Arizona. A granddaughter had just turned a year old.

Once chairman of the board, he served two years as a Buxton selectman. But, he was ousted in a recall in March of 1999.

At the time, many employees at Town Hall were unhappy with the way the town was operating, according to Town Clerk John Myers. A resident that circulated one of the recall petitions, George DiPaolo, said he was upset that a box to collect toys for kids had been moved from Town Hall and at the way the town was taking property for back taxes.

The recall petitions targeted all three selectmen serving at the time. Sylvia Young, one of the other selectmen targeted, said the recall was about “politics.” She said Jewett was a gentleman and “very” concerned about the town.

Young said Jewett took the recall to heart and never sought office again. “He was down trodden. He was upset,” Young said.

Libby said her brother, although voted out, continued to work for the betterment of the community. But “he was hurt,” she said.

He had a strong personality and more people loved him than hated him but all respected him, she said.

Jewett’s close friend, Bruce Morabito, said Jewett was respected for his honesty. Morabito described his friend as a perfectionist, outspoken and direct. “He told the truth,” said Morabito, who knew Jewett for 25 years.

Morabito said Jewett’s friendship was unconditional and rare. “He was a giver,” Morabito said.

He said Jewett would stop along a road to lend a hand to a stranger. “When you needed him, he was there,” Morabito said.

Jewett balanced his professional life with hobbies – hunting, camping, canoeing and cooking. Morabito said Jewett was a “fantastic” cook, who should have opened a restaurant. If Jewett invited two over for a cookout, he had enough food for 40 people. “What he had was to be shared with others,” Morabito said.

At Town Hall, Selectman Bob Libby said the Jewett family has been in Buxton for generations. “It was a shocker,” he said of Jewett’s death.

The accident closed both travel lanes for about five hours on a section of Route 112 near its intersection with Back Nippen Road between routes 22 and 4A. Traffic slowly passed the accident scene on Monday afternoon. Alongside a shattered truck window embedded in the ditch, a solitary red rose with greens wrapped in plastic and tied with a red ribbon was tossed by the wind.

A red rose, shattered glass and a pile of sand mark the site where Jonathan Jewett died on Thursday on Route 112 in Buxton.Jonathan JewettA fatal crash closed this section of Route 112 in Buxton for about five hours on Thursday, Nov. 3.