Marilyn L. Goodreau

WINDHAM – Marilyn L. Goodreau, 88, of Windham, died at home July 9, 2023, after a long illness.

Marilyn was born in Portland, the daughter of the late William J. Goodreau and Eloise Goodreau. She grew up in the North Deering section of Portland and graduated from Deering High School in 1953. She was also a graduate of Bay Path Junior College in Longmeadow, Mass. After graduating from college in 1955, Marilyn returned to Portland and was a long-time administrative assistant at Westbrook College.

Marilyn’s lifelong passion was animals and their welfare. In 1968, she volunteered her services to the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals which was founded in the late 19th century to provide financial support for horses that had been retired from the Portland Fire Department.

After the Fire Department had been mechanized and the last of the horse-powered wagons were retired, the Society established an office on Exchange Street to raise funds and distribute financial grants to benefit aging and sick horses. It was at this office in 1969 where Marilyn met Lawrence Keddy, another volunteer who shared Marilyn’s passion for injured and abused animals, particularly horses. That was the beginning of a 30-year relationship in which they shared not only a life together, but also a boundless desire to help abused animals.

Shortly after that, they acquired a large farm property on the River Road in Windham and established a horse rescue facility, the first and only rescue facility owned and operated by the Society in its previous 90 year existence. Over the years, Goodreau and Keddy expanded the facility and it became the largest horse rescue facility in New England.

Upon completion of the River Road facility, Keddy and Goodreau established one of Maine’s unique public/private partnerships. They agreed to accept any horse seized by state animal welfare agents, provide required veterinary services, food, stalls, and all rehabilitation services at no cost to the state. This resulted in significant savings to taxpayers over many decades.

Marilyn, with Mr. Keddy’s assistance, was not only the founder of the modern version of the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals, but for the next 40 years, she was the CEO, chief caretaker of the animals and, mostly importantly, chief dreamer. Since the River Road facility was built, hundreds of abused and neglected horses have been nursed, rehabilitated, and placed in good homes, every one of which was personally inspected and approved by Marilyn.

When Marilyn stepped down as CEO in 2010, she continued to lead the organization as Chairman of the Board. In addition to her work at the Society, Marilyn was very active on the Board of the Ahimsa Foundation, a large Massachusetts funder of animal welfare organizations. Marilyn was also appointed by the Governor to serve as a member of the Maine Animal Welfare Board. In 2020 the Society’s extensive facility on the River Road was named the Lawrence J. Keddy and Marilyn L. Goodreau Equine Rehabilitation Facility.

Marilyn was honored many times for her efforts to save abused and neglected animals. In May 2015, she received the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Altrusa Clubs of Maine and later that year she was named a winner of the WCSH 6 Who Care Volunteer of the Year Award. In 2016 Marilyn was also the recipient of the Governor’s Award for Service and Volunteerism and the Maine Legislature passed a legislative resolution acknowledging her service to Maine, and specifically neglected and abused animals. Notably, in all her years of service, Marilyn never accepted even a penny of compensation. Uniquely, she was a full-time, even overtime, volunteer.

Marilyn was predeceased by her parents, William Goodreau and Eloise Bouchard Goodreau; and her two brothers, William J. Goodreau and Robert J. Goodreau.

She is survived by four nieces and a nephew, Ann B. King of Woodbridge, Va., Suzanne Snyder of Manassas, Va., Jennifer G. Jansen of Westminster, Colo., Barbara Burkholder of Peaks Island, and John R. Goodreau of St. Croix Falls, Wis.

Thanks are offered to the staff of Northern Light Home Care and Hospice for their compassionate care. Further, special thanks are offered to Renée Cyr and Eve Ladd who were devoted as personal caretakers to Marilyn.

Visiting hours will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on July 19 at Jones, Rich & Barnes Funeral Home, 199 Woodford St., Portland. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on July 20 at St. Joseph’s Church, 673 Stevens Ave., Portland. A private burial will follow after the service.

Online condolences may be shared with her family at http://www.jonesrichandbarnes.com.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Marilyn’s name to the

Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals.