SCARBOROUGH – Ellen Kearsey Mayne of Scarborough, known to many friends as “Toby”, passed away peacefully after a long illness on Feb. 19, 2021 at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough.

She was born Ellen Kearsey to parents, Helen Fitzgibbons Kearsey and James Walter Kearsey, on Feb. 6, 1946 in New York, N.Y. After a few years living in New York and Chicago, Ellen grew up in New Ashford, Mass., attending grade school there. She had a love of the arts and studied piano, flute and ballet as a child. She graduated from Pine Cobble Middle School in Williamstown, Mass. in 1960. She then went on to the Orme Ranch School in Mayer, Ariz. where she graduated high school in 1963.

Ellen took her freshman year at William Smith College in Geneva, N.Y. and went on to study French at the University of Grenoble in Grenoble, France, then graduated from Boston University with a B.A. in English Literature. Upon graduation, Ellen worked in the family business, the Berkshire Travel Agency in Pittsfield, Mass. She also worked as a travel agent in Montreal, Quebec. She went on to teach high school English in South Windsor, Conn. and later earned a master’s degree in library science at Syracuse University.

Ellen married Mark Rigdon Mayne in 1972. They had one daughter, Sarah Mayne Brennan (nee Sarah Ellen Mayne). The family resided in western New York, Iowa, western Massachusetts and Oregon. Their marriage ended in divorce, and in 1999 Ellen resettled in Scarborough.

Ellen immersed herself in her new community in Scarborough. She volunteered as a docent at the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow House in Portland, as well as the Portland Harbor Museum. She also enjoyed taking adult education classes at the University of Southern Maine.

Ellen was a master knitter who enjoyed advanced knitting classes and meeting with her local knitting group. She took several knitting cruises and met like-minded folks from all over the world. She also delighted in spending time with her grandchildren.

Ellen is survived by daughter, Sarah Mayne Brennan, son-in-law John Tompkins Brennan, and grandchildren James Tompkins and Chloe Alice Brennan; her brother, James Michael Kearsey and sister-in-law Leslie Kearsey, and their children Rose Fitzgibbons Kearsey and James Weston Kearsey, all of Oregon, also survive her. Her parents predeceased her.

A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, March 20 at 1 p.m. at Conroy-Tully Walker South Portland Chapel, 1024 Broadway, South Portland. For those unable to attend in person, the service will be live streamed on Conroy-Tully Walker’s Facebook page at: http://www.Facebook.com/conroytullywalker. Visiting hours will follow the service from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. To view Ellen’s memorial page, or to share an online condolence, please visit http://www.ConroyTullyWalker.com

Those who wish may make memorial contributions in Ellen’s memory to:

Hospice of Southern Maine,

390 U.S. Route 1,

Scarborough, ME 04074