Maurice E. Maloney

AVON PARK, Fla. – Maurice E. Maloney, 89, of Saco, passed away peacefully at his Florida home on March 8, 2020; celebrating the end of his life with four generations of his family by his side. Maurice was born on Nov. 18, 1930 and raised in Buffalo, N.Y. The youngest of five children, he was the son of a school teacher and steel union organizer during the 1930s, who instilled the values of hard work and fairness that he carried throughout his life. As a young boy, Maurice discovered a passion for long distance running. He lettered three years at Bennett High School, breaking many school records and led his team to win an “All-High” championship. He was inducted into Bennett High School Hall of Fame in 2011. Maurice earned a track scholarship to Michigan State University where he was captain of the track and cross-country freshmen teams. He was a member of the 1948 varsity team that won the national cross-country championship.Maurice graduated with a bachelor’s degree in residential construction and moved to Fort Erie, Ontario where he met his future wife Antoinette “Toni” Fredo at the local CYO. Maurice being a pianist and Antoinette being a local singer, were brought together by their mutual love of music. They were married in 1954. He was immediately drafted into the U.S. Army, where he would serve for two years at the end of the Korean War. Maurice and Antoinette eventually settled in Fort Erie to raise their six daughters.Building houses became Maurice’s life work. He started his own housing consultant business in 1967, Memsco Systems, which he operated for nearly 40 years. Believing that anyone should be able to own a home, Maurice developed systems and methods to build affordable housing. His expertise took him to work with builders and agencies in nearly all 50 states, several Canadian provinces and Australia. He pioneered many automated building systems that we use today and developed one of the first computerized programs to build wall panels in the United States. It was a contract with the State of Maine in the late 1960s that led he and Toni to move his family to Saco, in 1970.Maurice was a devout Catholic and a member of Most Holy Trinity Church in Saco. He sang in his church choir for over 20 years. He and Toni also sang with the Maine Opera Company for several seasons.Maurice and Toni were able to winter in Avon Park, Fla. He always felt blessed that he could spend his retirement doing everything that he loved: travel, play golf, play piano, root for the Red Sox, the Buffalo Bills, any Spartan team, and spend time with his family. He spent many hours in his much-loved vegetable garden.His children and grandchildren will miss his unending generosity, quiet kindness, invaluable counsel, love of politics, sense of social justice, and many feisty political debates.Maurice is survived by his wife and partner of 65 years, Antoinette Maloney; his five daughters and son-in-laws, Joanne Maloney and Jake Hawkins, Mary Maloney, Colleen and Guy Levesque, Jeanne and Ed Jackson, Kathryn Maloney and Trevor Roberson, and son-in-law Eric Viden; 11 grandchildren Rachel, Katy, Elizabeth, Christa, John, Vanessa, Michelle, Shannon, James, Kelly, and Hannah; seven great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.He is predeceased by his beloved daughter, Maureen Maloney.Services will be held in the spring. To view Maurice’s memorial page and for further service updates, please visit www.cotefuneralhome.com In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine.