Dora passed away 10 days shy of her 103rd birthday.  Born March 13, 1916 in South Oakfield, ME to Fred and Amber Grant Higgins; she was one of seven children. She attended the one-room schoolhouse there with twelve other children, 4 who were her sisters, until the family moved to Smyrna Mills, where she finished Grammar and High School.  She then attended Farmington Normal School, receiving a degree in Home Economics and subsequently taught in several Maine schools. 

One of her summer jobs was waitressing at Lakewood Summer Theatre where she met and became friends with many famous actors. Vincent Price used to send her flowers. It was there that she also met her future husband who was a caddy on the golf course.  

In 1943 Dora married Paul E Akeley from Skowhegan. They moved to Bath, where they raised 4 children. One of their favorite things was Sunday picnics at Reid State Park with family and friends. It was also in 1943 that Dora met the renowned artist William Zorach. He told her she had god bone structure and asked if she would sit for him. The modeling resulted in a sculpture and drawings for which he paid her with a 1916 woodcut and a pen and ink profile of her.  

In 1960, Dora returned to school for her degree in Library Science. She was the librarian at Bath Jr High for 15 years.  

In later years, Dora renewed a special relationship with an old college friend, E. Munroe Hawkins. They remained very close until his death. 

Dora was a world class berry picker and jelly maker. We mourned the last jar of her wild raspberry. She was an accomplished seamstress who made clothes on commission and also helped numerous young people sew dresses and costumes.  

She enjoyed dancing, time spent at camp, writing poetry and reading. Dora was an adventurer who traveled to many points on the globe.  A few of the highlights were traveling through Alaska, where she walked right past a Grizzly on an Admiralty Island trail, viewing the Polar Bear migration in Churchill, Canada, and going on safari in Africa to see the great beasts.  

She hiked Mt Katahdin when she was 75, the last of many times, and para-sailed when she was 80. At the age of 82, she got a butterfly tattoo on her thigh. She was a beautiful, vivacious woman who had a good long run. 

Dora was predeceased by her husband, Paul, her five sisters, her son Timothy, and her granddaughter Jessica. Dora is survived by her brother, Fred S Higgins( 95), her children: Nan Akeley Higgins(Kent), Mark Akeley(Laura Hiestand), Martha Lee Akeley Carr(George), her grandchildren: Kristin Higgins Loukes(Aaron), Timothy Akeley, Elizabeth Akeley, Leah Akeley, Joey-Lynne Beardsley(Mike), Bryn Carr and Grant Carr, seven great-grandchildren, and many other cherished relatives and friends. Dora’s daughter, Martha, did an amazing job of caring for her at home. It was a promise kept. Many thanks also to Dora’s son Mark, other caregivers and Chans. A memorial service will be held in late spring.  

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