Leon Eugene Dudley

SCARBOROUGH – Leon Eugene Dudley resident of Gorham, passed away peacefully at the age of 82 at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough, in the early morning hours on Saturday, May 16, 2020. Leon was born in Parsonsfield on Jan. 23, 1938 to his parents, Colby and Leona (Blake) Dudley. He would share his birth story as a home birth during a traditional Maine blizzard, by a doctor who arrived by bicycle and had a little too much to drink and mistakenly put on his birth certificate that he was born in 1937. Later in life, Leon had to prove he was in fact born in 1938.Leon was an aquarian by nature, nonconformist, and always took the road less traveled. At the age of 14, he dropped out of the eighth grade and began living on his own, settling at the Scarborough Downs Race Track in Scarborough. There, he would care for the race horses by warming them up and cooling them down, before and after the races. In 1955 at the age of 17, Leon proudly joined the United States Navy, serving on the U.S.S Tarawa, crossing the equator and becoming a Son of Neptune. As an adult, Leon became a very skilled and talented boilermaker and welder. Leon was a member of UA Local 467 Plumbers and Pipefitters Union in San Francisco, Calif.; rising to hold an officer’s position on the Examining Board. In addition, he was a member of UA Local 217, Maine’s Plumbers and Pipefitters Union as well as UA Local 29 Boilermakers Union in Quincy, Mass. He worked on everything from paper mills to nuclear power plants from the east coast to the west coast. If there was a challenging job, Leon’s talent and expertise was requested. Friends and colleagues would often say, “The only thing he couldn’t weld was the crack of dawn and a broken heart.” During Leon’s younger years and even up until his passing, he likely will be remembered as a wandering cowboy. When he walked into a room he had a presence and confidence, people knew who he was, and if you didn’t, you sure were going to find out!Leon was a friendly and social person with an inviting smile, who loved being around people wherever there was a sunny day, music, dancing, card games, family and friends. He could start up a conversation with anyone and storytelling was one of his favorite pastimes. What you would remember most about Leon would be his stunning light blue eyes, truly one of a kind, his grandiose laugh, and his firm handshake. Leon is survived by his five children, Tracy D. Goode, Suellen J. Brown, Larry E. Dudley, Leah A. Dudley-Bartlett, and Lauren A. Dudley; grandchildren, Brandon Dudley, Corrie Brown, Wade Brown, Fawn Dudley, and Jade Bartlett; nine great-grandchildren; sister, Della J. Neuts; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Leon is predeceased by Colby and Leona (Blake) Dudley (parents); Susan Ellen Dudley (sister); Brent Eugene Dudley (grandson); and Donna Lee Genthner (sister).A special thank you to Leon’s niece, Jeanne Reagan for sharing her home with her uncle/roommate over the last two years, he was lucky to have you there.


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