SCARSDALE, N.Y./BRUNSWICK – Althea Pedersen, 85, of Brunswick, formerly of Scarsdale, N.Y., passed away peacefully Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, at Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough with her family at her side.
Althea was born in Hartford, Conn., on March 16, 1934, the daughter of Julius and Almira (Hurlburt) Shalen. She attended West Hartford schools and graduated from the Cushing Academy for Girls in Ashburnham, Mass., where she was editor of the school newspaper, was captain of its tennis team, and was also voted “Most likely to succeed.”  She loved being outdoors, and she was the youngest girl ever to be selected as Head Camp Counselor at Wavus Camp for Girls in Jefferson, Maine. She especially enjoyed canoeing, swimming, and tennis. She later attended Barnard College, where she received her B.A. in Botany.
She was a member of the Church of St. James the Less in Scarsdale, N.Y., where she once organized the annual rummage sale, and she moved to Maine in 2009.  
Althea enjoyed reading the Financial Times and following tennis. She also played the piano and was an excellent seamstress. She taught her children everything from algebra to history, she supported them in all sorts of activities from baseball to flute, and she could feed an entire family of six on a simple camp stove.  She was a wonderful storyteller.
She leaves behind two daughters, Jean Elisabeth Pedersen of Rochester, N.Y., and Sharon Louise Pedersen of Brunswick, two sons, Robert Charles Pedersen of Spring, Texas, and John James Hurlburt Pedersen and his wife Julia Tsar of London, England; two grandchildren, John Nicholas Tsar Pedersen and Catherine (Katya) Althea Tsar Pedersen; and her former husband, Charles Russell Pedersen and his wife Katherine Mithoff Pedersen of Bush, La.
A memorial service at the Episcopal Church of St. Mary in Falmouth will be held at a later date to be announced. 
 Arrangements are in the care of Brackett Funeral Home, 29 Federal St., Brunswick.  Condolences can be expressed to the family by visiting our website at www.brackettfh.com.
In lieu of flowers,
donations in Althea’s memory may be made to the:
Church of St. James
the Less
10 Church Ln.
Scarsdale, NY 10583