Lori Hayden, left, with her mother and sister

LORI HAYDEN

A kind and generous soul, Hayden, 52, was remembered also as a hard worker and honest woman.

“She was one of the kindest people I ever met,” said Ambrose “Tom” McCarthy, who was like a father to Hayden. “She had one of the biggest hearts.”

McCarthy helped raise Lori and her sister, Trisha, with their mother, Darla Pickett, after their father was killed in an automobile accident in the late 1960s. Lori was about 3 years old at the time.

Lori and Trisha worked at Central Maine Wreath in Skowhegan starting as teenagers and into their 20s. Hayden graduated from Skowhegan Area High School.

She had a son, Dustin, with Carroll Tuttle Jr. Authorities have said she and Tuttle Jr. were husband and wife, but multiple friends and family members say the couple never legally married.

Darla Pickett is a Skowhegan selectwoman and a former Morning Sentinel reporter. Hayden’s sister, Trisha Austin, is Skowhegan’s finance and human resources director and the wife of Harvey Austin, who was wounded in Wednesday’s shootings.

Hayden had recently worked for Harvey Austin at his construction business.

In a Facebook post Thursday, Trisha Austin said her sister had “been by my side through thick and thin.”

“I don’t know how we will go on without you. I … love you my sister, best friend and the best darn mother and meme, you never left their side. If we could only turn back time, one more hour, one more day. Know you made us proud, you never gave up trying to make it all better. May you find peace in heaven.”

Dustin Tuttle with his family

DUSTIN TUTTLE

Tuttle, 25, who had a 2-year-old daughter with his girlfriend, was recalled as a hardworking friend and young father.

Friends of Tuttle on Facebook said that they were heartbroken to hear of his death, and that he was a good father to his toddler and an all-around awesome friend.

“He was a great guy always there to help a friend no matter what,” Tuttle’s friend, Kyle Green, said in a Facebook message to a Morning Sentinel reporter. “And he was a caring and loving father to his 2-year-old daughter. He was loved by many and will take the shirt off his back for anyone. Hard working and loved to have fun. Very social and had a lot of friends that he cared about and cared about him.”

Tuttle, the son of Lori Hayden and Carroll Tuttle Jr., attended Madison Area Memorial High School.

He worked driving trucks for his uncle, Harvey Austin of Skowhegan.

Donald Curtis, his neighbor on Russell Road, said Tuttle was a good young man. He got into trouble when he was younger, but grew up and got a job.

“He worked every day, drove a dump truck,” Curtis said.

Trisha Austin said on Facebook on Thursday that her nephew “always gave me a hug and kiss no matter where” he saw her.

“Always sweetly called me Auntie Trisha with a hug and a loving smile. I don’t know how we will get through life without you there,” she wrote. “You loved your mom and that baby more than life itself. You had some tough times, but you never stopped trying. Know that your mom loves you with every piece of her heart and soul as does your beautiful little daughter. May you rest in peace with your mom by your side.”

Mike R. Spaulding is seen three years ago while on a motorcycle trip.

MIKE R. SPAULDING

A retired mill worker at Madison Paper Industries, where he worked his way up to machine tender, Spaulding, 57, retired when he began to suffer heart problems and had bypass surgery. In addition to his pension from the mill, Spaulding drew benefits from his time as an aircraft mechanic in the Air Force.

Spaulding had three sons. He was divorced and lived alone, indulging his passion for motorcycles, muscle cars and outdoors activities, according to his sons, Michael J. Spaulding and Cory Miller.

Neighbor Donald Curtis said Spaulding was a good guy – someone who would give you anything he had.

“If he had it, he’d give it to you,” he said. “If you needed a roll of toilet paper, a cigarette, a dollar, he’d give it to you – no questions asked. He was a nice guy.”

Michael J. Spaulding agreed with Curtis, saying his father was a “very caring and compassionate and loving person.”

The sons said their father was trying to help his neighbor Lori Hayden move away from an abusive relationship with Carroll Tuttle Jr. when the shootings happened.

“He was always in it to help others,” said Michael J. Spaulding. “If he could, he would always help everybody, which would explain why he was trying to help his neighbor get away from that relationship. He was selfless.”

Jason Lightbody, 47, said he met Spaulding about 12 years ago, when he was looking for someone to help him learn to hunt. When they met, Spaulding was still working full time at the mill, where he was a respected millwright and machine mechanic, Lightbody said.

“He was proud to be a papermaker,” he said.

Both gear heads, Lightbody and Spaulding dreamed about building a garage together and racing stock cars. Lightbody said Spaulding’s interest in cars led to a brief meeting with Tuttle Jr., who sold Spaulding a pristine black and red Mustang.

Around town, Spaulding was well known.

“He was charismatic and a good storyteller,” Lightbody said. “You could probably ask anybody his age, in their 50s, and they’d probably have a story about him.”

– Portland Press Herald Staff Writer Matt Byrne and Morning Sentinel Staff Writer Doug Harlow contributed reporting.