BRUNSWICK — Donald Moir Maynes, 89, died peacefully at his home in Thornton Oaks, in Brunswick, Maine.

He leaves his wife of 64 years, Sue Ann Maynes, his daughters Nancy and Kathryn, and his grandchildren, Elizabeth and Nicholas Kunzig.

He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, and moved with his parents to Sparta, New Jersey at the age of 17. Don spent his senior year at Blair Academy, an institution to which he remained loyal the rest of his life.

He then attended Syracuse University first in Forestry and Land Management, then in Business Management, and where he met his future wife, Sue Ann Rivenburgh.

On graduation, Don joined the regular army as a corporal. His military service ended with a catastrophic accident and the partial loss of his left arm, which resulted in 18 months at Walter Reed Hospital. He married his wife Sue on May 29th, 1954.

He joined Bemis Company in 1954, and commuted to Manhattan from East Orange, New Jersey as his family grew with the births of Nancy, Kathryn and Robert. Don then moved his family in November of 1960 to Pepperell, Massachusetts, where he worked in a series of managerial roles from sales to operations until his retirement in 1991. Don served as a deacon of Pepperell’s Community Church, and was a member of Pepperell’s Finance Committee, as well as a longtime active member of the Pepperell Lion’s Club, joining Rotary Club in the last few years before his move to Maine. He was a very active member of the group building Pepperell’s new youth center, and in raising money from entirely private funds for a senior center.

He embraced a local leadership role in the U.S. Senate campaign of Edward M. Brooks, and hewed to the Republican Party’s platform of personal responsibility and fiscal prudence. Don and Sue Ann were cherished among friends for their Kentucky Derby Day celebrations and an annual open house in December. Don was particularly devoted to his family, and dedicated time and effort to weekend activities, camping vacations and visits to his parents, brother Alan, and his sister-in-law and their daughter, Barbara, in Sparta, New Jersey. He bought horses for the family and with the help of a friend and neighbor, built a barn and paddock for them behind the house on Park Street. The death of his 18-year-old son in 1975 was a severe blow.

A man of great personal integrity with a lively sense of humor – and a wicked punster, Don treasured the close friends he made every place he lived. He and Sue voyaged through Europe a number of times, including several voyages on cruise ships. He delighted in technology, particularly computers, and kept up to date with the latest advances. Don enjoyed many hobbies, one of which was investing, at which he was very successful. He was a talented photographer and an accomplished maker of homebrewed beer for many years.

Don and Sue moved in 2006 to Thornton Oaks in Brunswick, Maine. Don was deeply content with his choice, the community he found, and the loving friends he made there. He continued his active community engagement there, coordinating weekend movie nights for a number of years, as well as sitting on the Thornton Oaks Finance Advisory Committee.

A short graveside service in Pepperell will be held at 2pm on Friday, September 21st at the Walton Cemetery on Park Street, followed by a small reception at the Community Church.