EAST WATERBORO – Marjorie Abbott’s world revolved around her family.
“She was always home with us when we’d get home from school,” her daughter Shirley Hutchins remembers.
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“Her family life was her whole life.”
Not only was she always home for her children, she baby-sat her grandchildren as well. Melissa Giles remembers that they would always play outdoors during the winter.
“She and my younger cousin would make a snowball fort,” Giles said, and they would have a snowball war against “Nana.”
If it wasn’t a snowball fight, they were out sledding, or during the summer she was right there with the grandchildren swimming in her pool, Giles said.
Just as Mrs. Abbott surrounded herself with her family throughout her life, they surrounded her on Thursday, when she died at the age of 78.
She was known by her close friends as Margie, and Giles remembers her as “a little spitfire.”
After she married Clinton Abbott in 1949, they raised their family in East Waterboro and established a business together.
Clint’s Marine started out as a filling station, providing car parts and repairs.
The business evolved into selling marine equipment and boats.
For every boat they sold, the Abbotts earned points.
They accumulated enough to win trips around the world.
Of all the places they went, Mrs. Abbott’s favorites were Hawaii and Acapulco.
No matter where they went, she brought home mementos for her children and grandchildren.
Giles remembers her grandmother returning from Hawaii with glasses that looked like coconuts.
Each grandchild received a glass with their name on it, in English and in Hawaiian.
Mrs. Abbott and her husband had many other adventures, in Rome, Denmark, South America and across the United States.
She shared stories with her family about dressing up for a toga party in Rome, and having to wear ballroom attire for an evening out at least once on every trip.
Giles said Mrs. Abbott also collected trinkets wherever they went, including a spoon collection with a spoon from every state.
She often shared those memories while showing her grandchildren the photos from the trips. Mrs. Abbott even had movie footage of some trips.
Giles remembers watching those movies, filmed before there was technology for recording sound.
Staff Writer Emma Bouthillette can be contacted at 791-6325 or at: ebouthillette@pressherald.com
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