Virgil Elmer Linnell

PORTLAND – Virgil Elmer Linnell, 88, died peacefully at the Barron Center on Jan. 11, 2021. He was born Feb. 26, 1932 at his parent’s home in Denmark to Victor Rubert and Edna Louise (Curtis) Linnell, one of their 10 children.

He graduated from Brunswick High School then served in the U.S. Airforce between 1951 and 1954 as an observer and radio operator during the Korean Conflict. On April 28, 1957, he married Patricia Irene Wood and they were parted by her death in 2015.

After moving to Connecticut for employment shortly after their marriage, they returned to Maine in 1967 to raise their three sons, living for many years on Rackleff Street in Portland before later residing in Westbrook.

For much of his career, both in Connecticut and Maine, Virgil worked as a draftsman. Later in life, he became a real estate broker and property manager, eventually starting his own successful business, Pioneer Real Estate, from which he retired in 2003.

While living in Durham Conn., he was a member of the American Legion – Robert Strickland Post, of which he was twice elected commander. In Maine, he was an active member of the Cornerstone Lodge No. 216 A.F. & A.M., where he rose to the position of master and was a recipient of the 32° Scottish rite.

Virgil was an avid genealogist, active in the Linnell Association and a contributor to “The Descendants of Robert Linnell.” One of his proudest achievements as a genealogist was tracing and documenting his mother’s genealogy to Mayflower passenger George Soule. He later became a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants of Maine.

He is survived by his sons, James and wife Diane of Portland, their two daughters – Heather and husband Timothy Koster of Broad Brook, Conn. and Samantha and husband Charles Hastings of Yarmouth; Stephen and wife Beverly of Bangor, their three children – daughters Amy and husband Paul Gifford of Broomall, Pa. and Abigail and husband Thomas Pease of Brewer, and son Jason and wife Staci of Bangor; and Andrew of Hollis and his son Zachery of Portland. He also is survived by great-grandchildren, Everett, Azariah, Eliza, Madeline, Declan and Phoebe; by two of his sisters, Rebecca Kohler and Nordica Graham, both of Williston, Fla.; and by many nephews, nieces and cousins.

A private graveside committal service will be held in the spring at the Demeritt Cemetery in East Peru.

To share memories of Virgil or to leave the family an online condolence please visit, http://www. athutchins.com.

Expressions of sympathy can be made in the form of a donation in Virgil’s name to the

Maine Historical Society

489 Congress St.

Portland, ME 04101


Share your condolences, kind words and remembrances below. You must be logged into the website to comment. Subscribers, please login. Not a subscriber? Register to comment for free or subscribe to support our work.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.