Eugene John Miliard

SCARBOROUGH – Gene, to all who knew and loved him, passed away early on Nov. 27, 2023, at The Mooring at The Downs at the age of 76, having battled Lewy body dementia for nearly seven years. He faced this diagnosis with courage and dignity.

Gene was born in Lewiston on July 6, 1947, the son of Rita (Caux) and John J. Miliard. He is survived by his sisters, Rachel, of Bowmanville, Ont., and Sandra, of Sabattus. He attended Holy Cross School and Saint Dominic High, graduating in 1965. Throughout his life, his Catholic faith was deeply important to him.

He moved to Boston for college, enrolling at Northeastern University, where he pursued a five-year work study program, enrolled in the Reserve Officer Training Corps and earned a BS in Business Administration and Management in 1970.

At Northeastern, Gene was a member of Phi Alpha Rho fraternity, and with his brothers soon formed a chapter of Delta Chi. The fraternities weren’t just a source for fun, but important for community service, camaraderie and the lifelong friends he made.

It was at a fraternity party that he met his future wife, Ann Marie in 1969. He told her within a month that he would someday marry her – and made good on his promise in 1973, when the two were wed in Framingham, Massachusetts.

They moved to Yarmouth in 1973 and then to Cape Elizabeth in 1975. Over the next half-century, Gene and Ann Marie raised three children and became grandparents to four grandchildren.

Gene loved his family more than anything.

His other loves included his golden retrievers and his cars – especially Audis and the 1966 candy apple red Mustang convertible that he helped restore and loved to drive around Cape Elizabeth. He loved walking in the woods and along the shore near his home, and looked forward each spring to the sound of “peeper” frogs.

He also enjoyed jogging, skiing and ice skating; tending to his vegetable gardens and tackling projects at home; learning about craft beer and listening to music, with a fondness for jazz, bossa nova and the Beatles.

Gene began his long insurance career working at Aetna. In 1979, he became an agent for Portland-based Morse Payson & Noyes Insurance, where he specialized in commercial lines and bonding. By the end of his career, when he retired in 2015, he was a Vice President at TD Insurance and had won many clients and made many friends across Greater Portland and Southern Maine.

His charitable work included board positions at the Cape Courier and Catherine Morrill Day Nursery. He also gave his time to Catholic Charities and Saint Bartholomew Parish.

Gene leaves behind his wife of 50 years, Ann Marie (Cunningham) Miliard, who loved him deeply and cared for him heroically over the many years of his illness.

He is also survived by his daughter Celeste and her husband Brandon Bannock of Cape Elizabeth, his daughter Noelle and her husband Thomas Petithuguenin, of Copenhagen, Denmark, and his son Michael and his partner Sybil Hennigar, of South Portland.

“Papa” also loved and was adored by his four grandchildren, Penelope, Archie, Everett and Martin.

The family is extremely grateful to the remarkable staff of The Mooring at the Downs and at Compassus Hospice in Scarborough, who so lovingly cared for Gene and his family.

Visiting hours will be held at Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Rd., South Portland, on Monday, Dec. 4, from 2-4 p.m. A funeral Mass will be held at St. Bartholomew Parish, 8 Two Lights Rd., Cape Elizabeth, on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 10 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Lewy Body Dementia Association at https://www.lbda.org/donate/