KENNEBUNKPORT – Roslyn Ruth Wildes, 89, a longtime Kennebunkport resident and a beloved mother to her children Michael, Dawn and Andrew, passed away Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021 at her home following a period of failing health.

Roslyn was born April 18, 1932, in Beverly, Mass., the daughter of James Bartlett and Evelyn Ruth MacCarthy, and is a graduate of Beverly High School.

She began working with New England Tel and Tel as a switchboard operator, a skill that followed her throughout her working career.

In the early 1950s, she met the love of her life, Theodore Wildes, while his Naval ship was in port in Massachusetts. She said it was his car that caught her eye, but most knew the truth.

After marrying, they settled in Kennebunkport, and she created a warm loving home for her family. As they grew, she took jobs with the Colony Hotel in both Kennebunkport and Florida, working its switchboard, and the Shawmut Inn, working with her daughter, Dawn.

An active lady, she loved to play Bingo, was a member of Sweet Adeline’s Yankee Belle’s in Kennebunk, and while living in Florida travelled with members of the Red Hat Society. More recently, she and Ted frequently visited the Lunch Box everyday as it was their favorite place to eat.

She is predeceased by her husband, Theodore Wildes, who passed away August 9, 2018.

Survivors include her children, two sons, Michael Alan Wildes and Andrew Thomas Wildes, both of Kennebunkport, a daughter, Dawn Marie Stevens of Kennebunk; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

Services will be private. To share a memory or leave a message of condolence, please visit Roslyn’s Book of Memories Page at http://www.bibberfuneral.com

Arrangements are in care of Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer St., Kennebunk, ME 04043.

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