Donald Brown. Lee Closson. Kathleen Marie “Kathy” Branch. Edith Nalle Schafer. William David “Bill” Clark. Richard Parks Anderson. Arthur James Keller.
Note: “People We’ve Lost” is a feature of the Bar Harbor Story where we share obituaries of people that the island lost in the previous 1-2 weeks.
We’re doing this because we think everyone deserves to be remembered as widely as possible and not behind paywalls or at a cost of $500 for people mourning. We’re free.
If you have an obituary for a loved one or friend that you can’t afford to place in other spaces, please let us know, and we’ll share it here for you.
Donald Brown
Bar Harbor and Milo
Donald passed away Sunday, October 19, at home with family and staff by his side.
Donald was born March 9, 1959 in Milo, Maine, the son of Ivan DL Brown and Vivian (Skoog) Brown. Donald was a proud member of Downeast Horizons community for over 20 years.
He is survived by his sister, Sylvia (John) Cunningham of Hulls Cove; brother, Paul (Denise) Brown of Glens Falls, NY; sister-in-law, Terry Brown of Milo; extended family Scott and Kristin Hallowell of Calais; their sons Justin (Lindsay) of FL and Nicholas (Jill) of Westbrook; nieces Kimberly and Nicole; and many friends and relatives. Donald was predeceased by his parents; brother, Leon; and sister, Ellen.
A celebration of Donald’s life will be held from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., November 1, 2025, at MDI Center of Downeast Horizons, 1200 ME-3, Bar Harbor, ME 04609.
A graveside service will be announced in the spring of 2026.
Donations may be made in Donald’s memory to Downeast Horizons, 77 Union St. Bangor, ME 04605.
Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com
Lee Closson
Mount Desert Island Region
Lee Closson, 66, passed away peacefully at Eastern Maine Medical Center on October 6th, 2025, with his wife Andrea by his side.
Lee was born on July 1, 1959 in Bangor, Maine. He graduated from MDI High School in 1977.
He served on the Trenton Volunteer Fire Department from 1984 to 1992 becoming chief during his time there. Lee also was a Mason belonging to Lodge 77 in Southwest Harbor. He loved to play golf, and all kinds of fishing and outdoor activities. One of his favorite pastimes was visiting with some of his many friends who also made their living from the ocean. Lee was very proud of all his family and their accomplishments, He made a lifetime career from the water starting out as the manager of Thurston’s Lobster Wharf, a service manager at Hinckley Boat Yard, and he retired from running his own Lobster buying and trucking company in January 2025.
Lee is survived by his beloved wife, Andrea; their daughter, Juno Park and spouse, Finn of Tacoma, Washington; his daughters, Katie Briggs of Lamoine, Maine and Amber Closson and her partner, Jeremy Abbott of Eastbrook, Maine and their mother, Susan Closson. His step-children, Mike and Haley Walcott of Bucksport, Maine, Alyssa Bushey of Bucksport, Maine and Sandra and Mike Perlman of Lamoine. His eight grandchildren, Kalea, Dylan, Natalia, Kensi, Jack, Bella, Raya and TJ and one great grandchild, Isla; his siblings, Lori and Everett of Tremont, Lester and Beth Closson of Gouldsboro, Lesa Closson of Orono, Maine and Lance Closson and Michelle of Wildwood, Tennessee; and many nieces and nephews. Special friends, Kenni and Susan Parsley of Bernard, Maine. He was predeceased by his parents Larry and Lenore Closson of Bernard, Maine.
A celebration of life will be held on November 9, 2025 at the Tremont gym at 11 a.m. The family invites relatives and friends to share conversation and refreshments. Those who wish to make gifts in Lee’s memory or express condolences may contact Andrea Closson, PO Box 228, Bernard, ME 04612. Condolences to the family may also be expressed at SimpleCremationofMaine.com
Kathleen Marie “Kathy” Branch
Seal Harbor
Kathleen “Kathy” Marie Branch, 68, died unexpectedly on October 16, 2025, at MDI Hospital, Bar Harbor after a short battle with cancer. She was born on May 18, 1957, in Bar Harbor the daughter of Valerie Marie (Frye) and Lowell Richard Chase, Sr.
She graduated from Mount Desert Island High School in 1975. A few short years later she married Bertram “Bert” E. Branch, II. They were married for 47 years and enjoyed traveling especially in the Caribbean to St. Martin Island. Last year, they spent 13 weeks there. Bert and Kathy enjoyed boating. For them a nice day on the water moored near Sutton’s Island with Kathy relaxing and enjoying a crossword puzzle, having a nap and then lunch together was the perfect day.
Kathy worked in several different fields. She started out at Fred C. Lyman Insurance Agency, Bar Harbor, as an agent for commercial sales for 20 years. She then spent 13 years as an office manager for Greenrock Company, Seal Harbor. The last job that Kathy had was as a pharmacy technician at West End Drug Store and Hannaford, both in Bar Harbor. Kathy served on numerous boards and committees in town and enjoyed her time being a member of the Mount Desert Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution where she served in the capacity as a secretary and treasurer.
Along with Kathy’s husband Bert she is survived by a brother Lowell Chase and wife Terri; nephew Stephen Chase and wife Kelsey; niece Kristen Ricker and husband Darren; grandnephew Marcus Chase, all of Bangor; Aunt Ruth Chase Mitchell of Marietta, GA and many cousins and friends.
A celebration of Kathy’s life will be held 1-4 p.m., November 1, 2025, at Seal Harbor Community Center. Those who desire may make contributions in Kathy’s memory to the Seal Harbor Cemetery, Assoc., P.O. Box 74, Seal Harbor or the Seal Harbor VIS, PO Box 171, Seal Harbor, ME 04675.
Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com.
Edith Nalle Schafer
Northeast Harbor
Edith Nalle Schafer, a writer, landscape designer and keen observer of her milieu, died peacefully on Oct. 15, 2025, in Washington, D.C. She was 94 years old.
An avid reader and writer from an early age, in 1953 Edith was awarded the Prix de Paris, granted to a college senior to work for a year at Vogue magazine in Paris. Her winning essay was on the importance of blue and green, but it is hard to imagine that she, of all people, cared much about the topic. After Paris she moved to New York City, lived in Greenwich Village, and worked for Macmillan Publishers.
A lifelong summer resident of Northeast Harbor, she met John (Jack) Schafer in the summer of 1960. He sailed to Maine with a group of friends from Washington, where he was starting his legal career at Covington and Burling, and they met, she said, “on a dock.” They got married on Dec. 30, 1961 (so, as he maintained, he could take her as a tax write-off for the whole year) and moved to Georgetown, where she lived for the next 60 years.
Born and raised in Chestnut Hill, Pa., Edith attended the Springside School, Chatham Hall, Vassar College and graduated from Bryn Mawr College. In her midlife, she went back to school at George Washington University and earned a degree in landscape design.
The youngest of five, Edith lived her childhood outside, playing in the streams, woods and fields of Chestnut Hill and Northeast Harbor. Her love of the outdoors was a guiding light of her life, and she was deeply involved in both of her communities. In D.C., she wrote for local Georgetown publications, volunteered with the Georgetown Garden Club, and was instrumental in creating Garden Day, a fund-raiser featuring local gardens. She was also involved in the Literary Committee of the Cosmos Club, helped run an educational program at the Smithsonian, and sat on the board of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington. In Maine, she was an avid hiker, tennis player and swimmer, a less avid golfer, and a not at all avid boater. She supported various local organizations and the Mount Desert Garden Club.
She wrote and published four books: “Our Remarkable Memory” (1988), “Aspects of Georgetown” (2004), “Literary Circles of Washington” (1993) and “Gardens of Georgetown” (2015).
Edith was a descendant, through her mother, of Henry Disston, founder of the Disston Saw Works in Philadelphia, and his son Hamilton Disston, a prominent Republican donor and real estate speculator. The Disstons were early Northeast Harbor summer residents, and as a result Edith had relatives scattered up and down Somes Sound and deep roots in the summer community.
She is survived by her three children, Alison, John, and Nancy Schafer, and five grandchildren, who all miss her. Her husband died in 2017. Her family intends to hold a memorial service for her next summer at St. Mary’s by-the-Sea in Northeast Harbor.
William David “Bill” Clark
Southwest Harbor
William David “Bill” Clark, 90, passed away peacefully at home in Southwest Harbor on Oct. 4, 2025. He was born on July 18, 1935 in Washington, D.C. to Martha Loman Clark and David Spotswood Clark. He spent his first 10 years in Gaithersburg, Md., then moved with his family to Washington, D.C. where he graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1952 at the age of 16. He attended Washington College in Chestertown, Md. for two years, then, at the age of 18, he joined the Marines and discovered this was the place for him. He was variously stationed at Paris Island, Camp Lejeune, the electronics school at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, the San Diego Naval Station, Quantico, Va., and even Japan. He attained the rank of sergeant. He was discharged in 1958 and went to two years of college at Tufts University where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Geology.
Bill met his wife, Susan Dearborn Stanwood, while at Tufts in 1958. They fell in love in one day and were married for 65 years, until her death in 2023. He joined the National Park Service upon graduation from Tufts and was stationed with the Park Service at Wind Cave, S.D. as a seasonal ranger during the summer, then went on to eight years at the C&O Canal in Maryland. He also served for three years in Death Valley, Calif. as a park ranger and where he wrote the book “Death Valley: The Story Behind the Scenery.” From there, he went on to the Grand Canyon in Arizona for five years as a park ranger and a naturalist, then to Harpers Ferry, W.Va. in 1978 where he worked as a park planner and interpreter which involved traveling to parks around the country, and even to Saudi Arabia in 1979 where he taught a course in geology to park personnel.
Bill retired in 1993, and by 1994 he had moved to Southwest Harbor where he sang with the Acadia Choral Society for 24 years, with the Summer Chorale for 10 years, and with the Gilbert and Sullivan Society for three shows. He had a one-man Sea Shanty Show where he performed 35 shows from Rhode Island and up the coast of Maine to southern Canada. He also taught 23 different classes for the Senior College, including American History, MDI History, Sea Shanties, the Geology of MDI, and Tidal Pools. He was a first mate and naturalist on the Sea Princess out of Northeast Harbor for 20 years. A member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ellsworth, he served on the Board of Directors for several years. He volunteered at the Southwest Harbor Library for 20 years and wrote the book “Acadia: The Story Behind the Scenery” in 1998.
Bill is survived by his daughter Robyne of Southwest Harbor and his son Bill Jr. (Karen) of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., their children Zachary (Skye) Clark and Katlin Clark and her husband David Scott. Bill also has two great-grandchildren, Ivy and Shelby Clark, daughters of Zach and Skye. He was predeceased by his mother, Martha (Loman) Clark Bruyere, his stepfather, Paul Bruyere, his wife Susan (Stanwood) Clark (1939-2023), and his daughter Amy Susan Clark (1963-1988).
A celebration of Bill’s life will be held on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 1 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ellsworth.
Richard Parks Anderson
Portland
Richard Parks Anderson passed away in Portland, ME, on October 9, 2025. Richard was a jokester, a dreamer, a guitarist, composer, an inventor, an entrepreneur, an art lover, a progressive, and a world traveler. He will be deeply missed by his global network of family and friends.
He was born in Muskogee, OK, on September 17, 1946 to LeRoy “Andy” and Elvira “Lolly” (Ghezzo) Anderson. As an Army brat, Richard spent his early years in Germany and Venice, Italy, his mother’s hometown. The Andersons also lived all across the U.S., giving Richard an early taste for adventure. In 1967, he was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War as a First Artilleryman. This experience taught him to love the people and cultures of Southeast Asia, and to hate war (and also camping).
When he returned from Vietnam, his parents had permanently settled in Bar Harbor, where Andy was hired as the director of Acadia National Park, and Lolly opened an Italian restaurant and nightclub, the (in)famous “Il Giardino.”
Richard joined his brothers as the house band for many summers, while earning a journalism degree from UMaine. He moved to Bangor and started a family with his former spouse, Cristina. For more than 20 years, he owned and ran Richard Parks Furniture Gallery. The business combined his love for design and travel, and took him all over the world in search of “furniture that doesn’t suck.” But he was always happy to return to the peace, beauty, and people of Maine. He was a passionate self-taught guitarist, and he released two albums of original compositions for classical guitar. In 2001 he married his wife, Karin, and the two of them spent nearly 25 happy years living in Maine, and traveling and adventuring together.
He was predeceased by his parents; and his “second mother,” his Aunt Giugi. He is survived by his beloved wife, Karin; as well as daughters, Caterina (Christopher) and Francesca; granddaughter, Vega; stepchildren, Valerie (Alex) and Per; first wife, Cristina; brothers, Anthony (Suzanne) and Michael (Fayelle); plus a niece, and two nephews and their children. His cats, Lilly and Ruffi, will also miss him.
A celebration of Richard’s life will be held on October 25 at Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Home of South Portland at 11 a.m. followed by a reception at The Cumberland Club in Portland. To view Richard’s memorial page, or to share an online condolence, please visit ConryTullyWalker.com. Donations may be made in his memory to The Victoria Mansion Museum, victoriamansion.org/support.
Arthur James Keller
Seal Harbor
Arthur James Keller, 81, of Seal Harbor, died of sudden cardiac arrest in Bar Harbor on October 20, 2025. A man of gentle modesty and quiet goodness, Arthur was an Indiana native, educated at that state’s Hanover College, and a summer resident of Mount Desert for 50 years.
He began a successful retail career at Indianapolis’s carriage-trade department store, and was recruited by Levi-Strauss & Co., which brought him to San Francisco, where he rose to the position of Vice-President and General Manager.
Relocation to New York City in the 1980s for Levi-Strauss to launch a clothing venture in partnership with the designer Perry Ellis brought him to the attention of the clothing brand Izod-Lacoste, which tasked him with turning around a struggling menswear business.
Asked to consult for the French company La Chemise Lacoste, Arthur moved to Paris to advise the company on its successful attempt to establish itself in the American market. He was hired by, and worked closely, with Bernard Lacoste, the son of legendary tennis player René Lacoste (the “crocodile”).
Arthur’s friendship with Sutton Island resident T.A. Cox introduced him to Maine summers in 1975. After many seasons at Sutton’s “Fir Lee,” he purchased his home on Barr Hill Way in Seal Harbor with his partner of many years Mark Gauthier, who survives him.
Both on MDI and in the California desert, Arthur’s passions were gardening, nature, architecture, food, family, friends, and the Episcopal church.
In Maine, he was a former Vestry member of the Parish of St. Mary and St. Jude, as well as a finance committee member and a tenured trustee of the Centennial Fund, that parish’s largest endowed fund. Arthur was a member and served as a Governor for three terms of the Harbor Club in Seal Harbor and also served on the board of the Seal Harbor Village Improvement Society. He was a founding board member of Bar Harbor’s Beatrix Farrand Society (Garland Farm) and was a loyal supporter of the College of the Atlantic, MDI Hospital, and the Land & Garden Preserve, whose property in Seal Harbor his home abuts.
Taken from us too soon, Arthur will be missed by sister and brother-in-law Martha and Dan Hale; nephew Aaron Hale and wife Molly, all of Indianapolis; and niece Whitney and husband Nick McDermott of Mount Kisco, New York.
A summer 2026 service is planned. Meanwhile, memorial contributions will be welcomed by the Mount Desert Nursing Association, P.O. Box 397, Northeast Harbor, ME 04662 (mountdesertnursing.org).
Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com.
Update: We’ve updated Donald’s obituary to include service information and the correct spelling of Sylvia’s name. This correction occurred on Sunday, October 26 at 1:28 p.m.
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