OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Joseph Garland ran a successful oil delivery business in Old Orchard Beach for 43 years and rented cottages to tourists every summer.

“He lived to work,” said his daughter Linda Bailer of Scarborough. “He was pretty much a fixture in southern Maine. In his heyday, everyone knew my dad.”

Mr. Garland died early Monday at Gosnell Memorial Hospice in Scarborough. He was 82.

In 1954, he bought his first oil truck for what would be Garland’s Oil Service. He delivered oil to customers mostly in Old Orchard Beach, Biddeford and Saco until he retired in 1997. He ran the business with his wife, Lucille Garland.

He then handed over the business to his son, Steven Garland of Cape Elizabeth, and his daughter and her husband, Paul Bailer. The family sold the business in 2007.

His daughter said Tuesday that her father worked hard to provide a good life for his family. She said he made oil deliveries seven days a week during his long career.

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Bailer said that at 69, her father was still pulling heavy hoses across his customers’ properties to fill their tanks. She said he was known for whistling on the job, talking to his customers and shining his oil trucks regularly.

“It was his trademark,” his daughter said. “That’s how he wanted to be (seen) in the community. He was a man who worked hard and played hard.”

Mr. Garland and his wife celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary on April 26. They raised a son and two daughters.

Together, the couple also operated Garland’s Cottages in Old Orchard Beach from 1963 to 2002. They owned five cottages and a duplex, which they rented to tourists every summer. Bailer said many families came back year after year.

“Many families rented for 30 years from us,” his daughter said. “Every summer, there was always a party on the patio. He enjoyed entertaining and having a good time.”

Mr. Garland was a member of St. Margaret’s Church. He was a life member of the Biddeford and Saco Elks Lodge No. 1597, the American Legion and the VFW Post 7997 in Old Orchard Beach.

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The Garlands enjoyed boating on Casco Bay and vacationing in Florida in their later years.

Mr. Garland had Alzheimer’s disease. In the past few years, his health declined and his wife took care of him.

“They were devoted to each other,” Bailer said. “They were pretty much inseparable.”

Staff Writer Melanie Creamer can be contacted at 791-6361 or at: mcreamer@pressherald.com.

 


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