Reed among notable Maine deaths

John H. Reed, a potato farming boy who became Maine governor by surprise and then went on to serve an ambassadorship, is perhaps the best-known Mainer or person with close ties to the state who died during 2012.

The list includes other politicians, educators, business leaders and Mainers who achieved fame in unique ways. Frank Knight was longtime protector of New England’s tallest elm tree, actress Phyllis Thaxter was seen by millions playing her “Superman” movie role, and Bryce Bayer invented a part used in nearly every digital camera.

Reed, 91, died Oct. 31 in Washington, D.C., after an illustrious life in politics.

A Fort Fairfield native, Reed grew up in a potato farming family and served in the Navy during World War II and in the Maine Legislature from 1955 to 1959. While he was state Senate president, Reed became governor in September 1959 upon the unexpected death of Gov. Clinton Clauson. Reed was appointed in 1967 to the National Transportation Safety Board and was U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives in 1976- 77.

Others who died during the year include:

Hugh Edwin Young, 94, who became University of Maine president in 1965, died Jan. 2 in Madison, Wis.

Rushworth Kidder, a writer and founder of the Rockport, Maine-based Institute for Global Ethics, died March 5 in Naples, Fla., at age 67.

Ellen “Hattie” Bickmore, 78, the first woman to chair the Maine Republican Party, died March 16 of lung cancer at a Scarborough hospice. A Marine Corps veteran, Bickmore was left widowed with five children when her husband drowned in a boating accident in 1967.

Samuel Collins Jr., 88, a former Maine supreme court justice who previously served five terms in the state Senate, died March 22 at his home in Rockland. A Caribou native, he was the uncle of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

Hilton Kramer, 84, the former chief art critic at The New York Times and founding editor of The New Criterion magazine, died in an assisted living facility in Harpswell on March 27.

Frank Knight, 103, of Yarmouth, whose decadeslong battle to save New England’s tallest elm tree served as an inspiring tale of devotion, died May 14 in hospice care. Knight had affectionately referred to the 217-year-old elm, nicknamed Herbie, as “an old friend.”

Joe Tiede, 84, a retired sportswriter and editor for The News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C., died June 22 at his home in Wilmington, N.C. A Bowdoin College graduate, Tiede launched his sportswriting career in 1955 in Bangor.

Peter Kyros, 86, who represented Maine’s 1st Congressional District from 1967 to 1975, died July 10. The Portland native worked on warships in Bath at the start of World War II, enlisted in the Navy in 1943, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy.

James Franklin Goodrich, 99, a former president of Bath Iron Works and undersecretary of the U.S. Navy under President Ronald Reagan, died July 16 in Falmouth. He served as president and CEO of BIW from 1965 to 1975 and became chairman in 1978.

Phyllis Thaxter, 92, a Portland, native and actress best known for her role as Clark Kent’s adoptive mother in the 1978 film “Superman,” died Aug. 14 in Longwood, Fla. Thaxter appeared in 17 movies and also had dozens of television roles.

Charles “Charlie” Lyons, 68, of Scarborough, president of York County Community College who also led administrations at other campuses across the state, died of cancer Aug. 22. He had served as president of the University of Maine at Augusta from 2001- 06 and president of the University of Maine at Fort Kent from 1996 to 2001.

Capt. Susan Clark, 48, the first female harbor pilot for Portland Harbor, died of cancer Sept. 6. Clark had piloted more than 1,000 ships into Portland Harbor since 2001.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Henderson, 33, a Houlton native, died Oct. 1 of injuries from an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.

Rodney Quinn, 89, a former Democratic Party activist who served as Maine secretary of state for a decade, died Oct. 27 in a Scarborough hospice.

Bryce Bayer, 83, of Brunswick, a retired Kodak scientist and the inventor of a widely used color filter array that bears his name, died Nov. 13.

Kevin Grover, 40, of Falmouth, a former Maine Teacher of the Year who taught second grade Falmouth Elementary School, died Nov. 22 after a Thanksgiving Day run while visiting relatives in Rangeley. He was the 2010 Maine Teacher of the Year.

Russell Libby, 56, a leader of the organic farming movement in the state, died of cancer Dec. 9. Libby was executive director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association for 17 years.

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