Freeman Abbott has called it a career as Gorham’s code officer after 20 years serving the town. “I am going to take it easy and enjoy my family in retirement,” Abbott told Westbrook-Gorham Now in an email.

Abbott and his wife, Elaine, will observe their 49th wedding anniversary next month. The couple  has two children, Cory and Tiffany, both teachers, and three grandchildren.

“She (Elaine) has been through many late nights and people being angry with me because of my job,” Abbott said.

Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak announced Abbott’s retirement at the June Town Council meeting. “We appreciate Freeman’s service and dedication to the town of Gorham as a code enforcement officer,” Paraschak said in an email.

In 2005, Clint Cushman, then the Gorham code officer, hired Abbott after working for the town of Limington for several years. “We made a great team for many years, until he retired a few years back,” Abbott said.

Through two decades of duty in Gorham, Abbott has served as Cushman’s assistant, building inspector and also once as the town’s health officer, besides code enforcement officer.

Abbott graduated from Bonny Eagle High School in 1977 and took an active interest in building trades. “I owned my own construction business before I went into code enforcement,” he said.

Over the years, Abbott attended seminars and classes during his 35 years as a code officer and he earned a lifetime certification from the state of Maine. He has served on the boards of multiple professional associations.

Abbott was busy in the Gorham Code Office, handling a significant town growth spurt during his tenure. The population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, climbed from 14,1o1 in 2005 to an estimated 18,545 as of July 1 last year. It marked a population increase of 4,444 or 31.5%.

Abbott cited the opening in 2008 of the Bernard Rines Bypass that diverted commuter traffic away from Gorham Village as a big change in the town plagued by high traffic. He also cited the town’s five roundabouts, three on the bypass, that keep traffic flowing at intersections.

He ranks training two “great” code officers as his most noteworthy achievements. One is Scott Dvorak, picking up the reins in the Gorham Code Office, Abbott said, and the other, Tom Hohn, working for the city of Portland.

“Of course, it has been wonderful to work with a great team in the code office,” Abbott said. “They feel like family to me.”