She graduated from Edward Little High School, where she was a majorette, leading the marching band with her elegance and beauty.
She briefly worked as a model in New York City before returning to Maine. She met the love of her life, Robert Norman LePage in 1952 while on a double date. The two of them connected on the dance floor, where they discovered they could definitely cut a rug. Elsie and Bob were married in 1953 in Lewiston Maine and had their honeymoon in Canada.
They lived in Ellsworth and then moved to Bath, where they raised their young family and put down roots. Elsie prided herself in her home and gardens and loved making her surroundings welcoming to her family and friends. Her favorite color — blue — was represented all around the décor.
For many years, Elsie was the face of the Bath Memorial Hospital, where she warmly greeted patients and their families in Admissions with her best friend, Marilyn Rogers. She also helped many a sports enthusiast with their equipment needs at the “Ski Stall” in Bath.
She loved being active and was an accomplished water skier, alpine skier and swimmer. She looked forward to spending time on Maine lakes and at the ocean, where the family spent summers on Crystal Lake in Harrison and at Wells and Drakes Island beaches.
Elsie was a tireless booster of the athletic careers of her two children and six grandchildren, who competed in twelve different sports at the grade school, high school and college levels. She and Bob sought out the schedules of all of their games and meets, and always arrived in the respective team “colors” to cheer them on. Over the years, Elsie got to know many of her grandchildren’s teammates and their parents.
Elsie enjoyed gardening, and especially loved roses, hydrangeas and lilies of the valley. She also loved feeding hummingbirds on her deck. She was a big hit at the Burgess family reunion “Fish Fry” on Bear Pond when she brought her baked beans and zucchini relish and at Coughlin family Thanksgiving gatherings on Drakes Island, where she was famous for her deviled eggs.
For the past three years, Elsie and Bob have lived in Portland at Birchwoods at Canco, where they have been well-loved and cared for. In 2016, they were named Queen and King of the Birchwood Prom.
The family thanks the staff of Birchwoods for their devotion and commitment to Elsie’s care.
Elsie is survived by her husband of 64 years, Robert N. LePage, her two children, daughter, Janet Beecher and her husband Bruce Beecher of Scarborough, her son, Mike LePage and his wife Meg (Coughlin) LePage of Cumberland; her grandchildren, Page and Christine Beecher of Scarborough, Burgess (“Gessy”), Catie and James LePage of Denver, Colorado, and Liza LePage and her husband Adam Normann of Portland.
Condolences, donations, and a video tribute may be found online at www.albertburpee.com.
Elsie’s Celebration of Life shall be from 2 – 4 PM with formal remarks at 4 PM on Thursday, August 31 at the Albert & Burpee Funeral Home, on the corner of Pine and Webster Streets, in Lewiston, Maine. Interment, Gracelawn Memorial Park, Auburn.
Donations may be made in her memory to the Maine Parkinson Society, 359 Perry Road, Brunswick, ME 04401.
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