OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Lewis Alden Carver Booth, 84, of Old Orchard Beach, died peacefully Friday evening, May 2, 2014.
He was born Nov. 3, 1929, to Harold M. Booth and Irene Madelene Carver Booth, in Biddeford.
After attending St. Francis High School in Biddeford, until the age of 17, he felt the greater need to serve his country and joined the U.S. Marine Corps from 1946-51.
Afterwards he went on to a four-year apprentice school at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, studied at the University of New Hampshire and took a draftsman trainee course of naval architecture, also at PNSY.
His life’s work was in the shipbuilding industry. He spent 12 years at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as a journeyman sheet metal worker and advanced to naval architecture technician. He also worked for Bath Iron Works as group leader of the Estimating Department. From there he traveled to Pascagoula, Miss. with his wife to work for Ingalls Shipbuilding. His life in Mississippi brought him great joy, and he advanced to chief engineer through the 22 years that he worked for Ingalls, until his retirement.
His last 13 years were spent enjoyably back in his home state of Maine, close to his childhood home in Camp Ellis Beach, Saco. He was devoted to his church and religion and found great joy in scripture, nature, and often wrote journals of various plants and seasonal changes, and he had a love of bird watching. He acquired a vast library during his lifetime with historical literature, poetry through the ages and botanical books. He always gave back to his local and religious communities with many donations through the years. His legacy has been passed down through generations of the Booth-Lagerstrom family to keep your head down, work hard, find joy in life and be content.
He was preceded in death by: his wife of 44 years, Irene Burns Booth, whom he missed and thought of lovingly in their time apart.
Lewis is survived by: his siblings, Anne Lagerstrom of Portland and J. Haley Booth of Lyman, and their children.
A private, family graveside service will be held at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Saco. Arrangements are by Cote Funeral Home in Saco. To send a condolence or to sign the online guestbook, go to www.cotefuneralhome.com.
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