SOUTH PORTLAND – Alan Wayne Carle, 61, died unexpectedly at his South Portland home on Sept. 18, 2020. Born August 1, 1959 and raised in Sangerville Maine, he was the eldest son of Priscilla and Milton Carle.

Alan’s roots in the woods and lakes of central Maine shaped a lifelong passion for the outdoors and an energetic, hands-on approach to problem-solving. A B.S. degree at UM-Orono sparked an electrical engineering career and a creative, open-minded search for knowledge.

During college he met Gail Jacque, with whom he married in 1985 in Vienna, Austria, raised two children, and returned over many years to a Great East Lake family camp in western Maine. His career trajectory led through Massachusetts and Atlanta to a technical training center for worldwide clients in Charlotte, NC. He returned to Maine as a telecommunications engineer, based in Yarmouth with responsibilities at a Florida training center and various national project sites. In recent years he settled into a converted schoolhouse in South Portland, working at Maine Medical Center.

Alan displayed an exuberance for life, a love of quirky projects, and a deep empathy for others. He was an aficionado of adventuring, whether kayaking the Allagash, hiking throughout New England, or biking with his wife across the Netherlands or nearby Cape Elizabeth. A devotee of Maine culture and New England teams, Alan was an ace at camp games like croquet and horseshoes and a host offering plentiful chips, popcorn, and area craft beers. He served as a mentor to many: he guided scouts in leadership training and river or winter camping, coached soccer and Odyssey of the Mind, and organized clam festival fundraisers. A wonderful family man and a close companion to friends and neighbors, Alan was also known for his ultra-hot homemade jerkies, extravagant breakfast and seafood feasts, and odd talent for winning costume party prizes.

An inquisitive spiritual dimension led Alan to share ponderings, explore philosophical and Buddhist thought, and extend these into a way of living, experiencing nature and people, and viewing the world, as expressed through his prolific writings and photographs. He also loved music with encyclopedic recall and expressed a profoundly silly, absurd, and Pythonesque sense of humor.

Alan is survived by his spouse of 35 years, Gail Carle; daughter Julie Carle; son Ian Carle and his spouse Eleanor Carle; and siblings Lisa LaBree, Brian Carle, and Laurie Pizzo.

An outdoor celebration of life will be held under the tent at Hobbs Funeral Home in South Portland, 230 Cottage Road, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Online condolences may be expressed at http://www.hobbsfuneralhome.com.

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