James Michael Dale

James Michael Dale 1944 – 2022 ELLSWORTH – In the early hours of May 4, 2022, at the age of 77, James Michael Dale of Ellsworth and Popham Beach, unexpectedly slipped the bonds of his earthly existence and was borne on the wings of angels to meet his Lord, face to face. He knew exactly where he was going, having had profound near-death experiences in January 2020, when he was given a reprieve and returned to his family. He continued to live with congestive heart failure and his wife Anne and family savored every day of the extra time they were given. He had a special relationship with The Blessed Virgin Mary and prayed the rosary every day and night. Michael was born into a prominent family on August 21, 1944, in San Angelo, Texas, the only child of Michael Collier Dale and Bonnie Rahl Dale, both only children themselves. His father’s family owned thousands of acres of land and while Michael had countless relatives scattered throughout the state, he never knew any of them, except for his beloved paternal grandmother, Carrie Dale. His parents divorced when he was just two and his mother, unable to cope, set off a chain of events that led to a painful isolated childhood. He attended nursery school in San Francisco with all non-English speaking children and then abruptly moved to rural Alaska to live back and forth with his mother, then with his maternal grandmother Lillian Rahl, as well as with a foster family. In Alaska, he attended a one room school with the Inuits, again the only English-speaking child. The class had one Bible and one dictionary at their disposal. He spent his childhood alone, except for the companion of the characters in books that he eventually got his hands on. As a young boy, he spent his days and nights exploring the wilds of Alaska, with no adult supervision. A special memory was hearing on the radio that Alaska was going to be the 49th state of the U.S. Michael’s life experiences were stranger than fiction. He wrote a book about them entitled The Last American Pioneer, with instructions to publish it following his death. At the age of 13, he was sent to military school in Deland, Fla. After three years, he managed to get expelled. He then started high school in Orlando, but soon dropped out and eventually enlisted in the military at age 17. He was stationed at McGill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. and spent three of his four years of service at a base outside of London. Upon his release, he took a series of tests over several days and got his GED and two years of college credit at the University of Maryland. He then returned to Tampa and enrolled as a junior on the GI bill. It was there that he met his wife, Anne, in philosophy class and they were married on August 20, 1968. He graduated in 1969 with a BA in psychology and worked for the Health and Welfare Dept. in Tampa while Anne was finishing her degree. In 1970, they boarded their VW bus and headed to San Francisco to enjoy the last vestiges of their hippie era. Michael was brilliant. He had staggeringly high IQ and was a voracious reader and writer. He was an accomplished photographer, organic gardener, and enjoyed splitting wood, as his yard will attest. He attended daily Mass, cooked, and baked, played a mean game of Scrabble every day and enjoyed feeding the birds and squirrels. Michael was a true introvert and basically gave up a life of solitude in order to be with the extroverted woman who he fell in love with. Together they travelled extensively in Europe and enjoyed life at their Popham Beach cottage, Anne’s ancestral summer home. Michael lived in Ellsworth for 43 years and he and Anne raised their three children here. He was a probation officer in Ellsworth and Bangor and helped many youths and adults to straighten out their lives. Following his retirement, he managed the Ellsworth Food Pantry for five years. He considered himself blessed to have a real home and family and interestingly enough, with no experience with family life, was a wonderful husband and father. Whenever he was questioned about his childhood, his response was always that they did the best job that they could. Surviving are his wife, Anne Bussey Dale, Ellsworth; son, Jonathan Bussey Dale and wife Abby of Lisbon, daughter, Rosemary MacPherson Morgenstern and husband Michael of Rockland and son, Benjamin Michael Dale and wife Elena of Concord, Mass.; grandchildren, Jacob Michael Dale of Lisbon, twins, Anne Leznik Dale and Emily Bussey Dale and Isabelle (Libby) Bridgham Dale of Concord, Mass.; Nathan William Soule of Tempe, Ariz., Zachary Bridgham Soule of Rockland; step-grandchildren, Lucy Morgenstern and Dylan Morgenstern of Rockland. He also leaves behind his brothers-in-law, John Bussey and wife Jiraporn and son Jason of Bath, William Bussey and wife Nan and children, Kate and Sarah of Dedham, Mass. and brother-in-law, Robert Bussey’s children, Kate and Nick. He was predeceased by his brother-in-law, Robert Bussey. A Mass will be celebrated at St. Joseph’s Church, Ellsworth on May 14, 2022 at 11 a.m. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall. Interment will be at Oak Grove Cemetery, Bath on May 20, 2022 at 11:00 am Arrangements by Jordan-Fernald, 113 Franklin St. Ellsworth Condolences may be expressed at http://www.jordanfernald.com “Well done good and faithful servant”