Edith Milhorat Boothby

FALMOUTH – Edith “Edie” Milhorat Boothby, 86, of Falmouth, passed away peacefully on July 22, 2025 at Maine Medical Center surrounded by her loving family. She was born on May 11, 1939, the daughter of the late Ade Thomas Milhorat and Edith Herrick Milhorat.

In her youth, Edie lived in Pelham, New York. She attended Pelham High School and then Cornell University where she met her future husband, John, while walking along the Arts Quad. She received her master’s degree in teaching at Columbia University and taught for several years before starting a family.

Edie and John married in 1963 and are the proud parents of three children and seven grandchildren. In 1973, the couple bought an old farmhouse (built in 1785) in Falmouth, and they spent the rest of their life together restoring it, filling it with special antiques, gardening, and making many happy memories, especially around the holidays. Edie loved to decorate and put so much of herself into this lovely home.

A stay-at-home Mom while her children were young, Edie spent many rewarding hours volunteering in her community, including her church, the Portland Symphony Orchestra and a detention center in Portland where she tutored troubled youth. Edie was also a proud member of the Junior League of Portland and served on the committee that created the Falmouth Forecaster newspaper in 1986. A dedicated advocate for education, Edie served as the Chair of the School Board at Falmouth High School for five years. Edie obtained her Real Estate license in 1990 and spent over 30 gratifying years getting to know her clients well and helping them find their perfect home. She retired from Town & Shore Real Estate in Portland, when she was in her late seventies.

Edie loved to be outdoors and treasured the family vacation every summer to Baxter State Park in Northern Maine. There the family spent hours together enjoying nature, watching moose and skipping rocks in Daicey Pond, climbing Mt. Katahdin and sitting around the campfire. Edie also enjoyed traveling abroad and visited many parts of the world with friends and family. Greece and Alaska were two of her favorite recent destinations. Her last trip was to Southern Africa where she and John were overwhelmed by its beauty and the animals, especially the elephants.

MomMom, as she was known by her grandchildren, loved spending time with her family at her favorite spot in the world, Highgate Springs, Vt. When she was six years old, her family fell in love with Highgate, and soon after her parents bought a small, blue cottage on the shores of Lake Champlain which her mother often referred to as “My blue heaven”. As a child she spent hours playing, riding horses and making friends in this tiny and remote Vermont town. When she grew older, she enjoyed telling stories of her childhood to her grandchildren, kayaking, walking “the loop” and playing poker around the dining table. So many happy memories were made at this cottage, and her wish is to have her ashes spread there.

Edie leaves behind her beloved husband, John, of 62 years, as well as her children, Julie (Patrick) Fredericksen of Littleton, Mass., Kristen Toronto of Falmouth, and John (Erin) Boothby, Jr. of New Milford, Conn. She will be dearly missed by her seven adoring grandchildren, Sam Fredericksen and wife Aryanna Perez, Henry Fredericksen, Johnny Toronto, Nate Toronto, Emma Boothby, Tate Boothby and Violet Boothby. Beloved siblings include her brothers, Thomas Milhorat and the late John Milhorat. She also leaves behind many dear nieces and nephews, as well as wonderful friends from Falmouth, her Cornell days, Town & Shore Real Estate, The Falmouth Congregational Church, and Highgate, Vt. We are certain she wishes she could give each of you one last hug.

A Celebration of Life to honor Edie will take place at the Falmouth Congregational Church, 267 Falmouth Road, on Saturday, August 9, at 2 p.m. All friends of the family are welcome.

Edie loved to read and valued libraries. If you would like to honor her memory, please consider making a donation in her name to the Falmouth Memorial Library. Edie was also extremely proud of the work her father did, founding and doing research for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Gifts to the MDA would also be welcomed and appreciated.