Mrs. Lemke was known for her big laugh, her high-heeled shoes and for filling nearly every inch of the white board with thick black marker.
Melanie Creamer
Melanie Creamer is a news assistant, who's worked at the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram for nearly 16 years. She oversees various responsibilities from monitoring the news and business email addresses – to fetching old newspaper articles and photos from the archive.
She’s the face behind the popular business “On the Move” column, which appears in Tuesdays and Thursdays newspapers.
A compassionate and soft-spoken woman, Melanie is also the writer of the newspaper’s feature obituary. Many of her colleagues say she has one of the toughest jobs in the newsroom. She tells heart-breaking stories of love and loss. She listens as parents sob uncontrollably over the tragic death of their child. She writes touching stories about couples who have been married for 60 plus years, and then die within days or weeks from each other.
Melanie was the recipient of the Maine Press Association’s Unsung Hero Award in 2015.
A native of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she graduated from Fitchburg State College in 2000 with a degree in professional writing. She lives in Scarborough with her fiancée and is a co-parent to two daughters.
Feature obituary: Ernest Valente, Jr., 81, ‘Mayor of Warren Avenue’
Mr. Valente was an accomplished upholsterer and longtime owner of Speed’s Auto Top in Portland.
Ashley Drew, young Scarborough woman who inspired many, dies at 26
Despite being born with cystic fibrosis, she became an accomplished athlete and musician and gained national attention in an Affordable Care Act video.
Feature obituary: Douglas Wallace, 84, paper mill quality manager
Mr. Wallace was also a loving husband and a volunteer for the Westbrook Fire Department for 22 years.
Feature obituary: Gilman Bouchard, 71, veteran, corrections officer, family man
Mr. Bouchard grew up in Madawaska, the second-youngest of 12 children.
Feature obituary: Mark Tordoff, 51, leader at Maine Christian radio station
Mr. Tordoff also led a push for Christian musicians to perform at music and sports venues across southern Maine.
Feature obituary: Brandon Garette, 48, taught many about AIDS prevention
Mr. Garette, born Eric J. Clifford, tested positive for HIV in 1986. He was 21 years old and thought his life was over . . .
Feature obituary: Evan McBreairty, 21, Corps of Cadets member
The young man was scheduled to fly Sunday from Portland to Washington state for a month-long training session.
Feature obituary: Ralph J. Salamone, 88, retired water district foreman
Mr. Salamone had a strong work ethic and a passion for family and the outdoors.
Feature obituary: Edith Beaulieu, 76, ‘a pioneering Franco-American feminist’
As a former Democratic legislator from Portland, Beaulieu fought tirelessly for education, labor and public safety issues.