KENNEBUNKPORT — Donald Holbrook Sr. was a prominent figure in Arundel’s Masonic Lodge No. 76.

“He was a Mason” like many others in his family, said Wayne Adams, a fellow past master.

From the time Mr. Holbrook joined the fraternal organization, he worked his way up the ranks. He served as master in 1988, said his wife, Mitzi Holbrook. After that, he was a mentor for other Masons.

“He always worked well with younger, newer Masons,” Adams said. “He was really a natural leader. People respected him.”
Mr. Holbrook died Sunday. He was 67.

Mr. Holbrook grew up in Cape Porpoise and was a star athlete throughout his days at Kennebunk High School. His wife said he lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track.

A fellow Mason, John Nompleggi, knew Mr. Holbrook before he was in the fraternal organization with him.

“I remember him mostly in basketball because he was tall,” Nompleggi said.

He continued to use his athletic ability through his early career with the Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Wells Water District. A former co-worker, Harry Ross, said they played together on the company’s softball team for a few years. The team won the Kennebunk title two years in a row, Ross said.

“I remember Donny running out and he jumped up and caught (the ball). He was really good. Had a good arm on him,” Ross said.

“He was a good guy,” said Ross, who worked with Mr. Holbrook during much of  his 41-year career with the water district.

“Each one of us, we’d hang around, the older generation. We’d be there to help each other out,” said Ross, who retired a year after Mr. Holbrook’s retirement in 2004.

When it came to the Masons, Adams said Mr. Holbrook exemplified all the principles of the organization.

“He was very serious about what he did, always. He was very sensitive to other people,” Adams said. “He was very much a natural leader. He knew how to bring out the best in people.”

His teaching and mentoring skills came out in his personal life, his family said. His wife said he loved spending time outdoors.

Whether it was hunting, fishing or just enjoying wildlife, Mr. Holbrook took pleasure in sharing it with others.

His wife said Mr. Holbrook would hunt for deer and turkeys, as well as bears. “He shot a bear with a bow and arrow once,” she said.

He also fished locally, and took trips to the Belgrade Lakes. His wife said he liked to go away on weekends to fish or hunt.

His son, Don Holbrook Jr., remembers years of hunting and fishing with his dad.

“I have three sons. He really enjoyed taking them out for their first years of hunting,” his son said. “He really enjoyed doing it, taking them and teaching them the outdoors.”

Staff Writer Emma Bouthillette can be contacted at 791-6325 or at: ebouthillette@pressherald.com