OCEAN PARK – William “Bill” Frizzle often wished he had become an archeologist, rather than a teacher. He liked solving mysteries- not the kind found in books-but those in objects found in flea markets. What was that rusted thing made for? Could it be made to work again? What kind of wood is that? Can its finish be restored? What does the knot in a lamp cord tell you about when the lamp was made? He used these answers to make things work again, refinish the wood, and show people that knots could teach and entertain as well as hold things together. And Can Openers! The Baxter fortunes depended on these as much as on abundant corn and cheap Maine labor. You can’t eat it if you can’t open the can! Beginning with those in the kitchen of his in-laws, he found more than a hundred-all different- in flea markets across the state for his collection.

Born in Worcester Mass. on March 30, 1929, he moved to Ocean Park with his parents in 1950. Older residents will remember the hanger-like garage just off the main road, and his mother, Elva Frizzle, who sold ESSO gas and carried on a summer rental business (bicycles 25 cents/hour!). Here, Bill fixed cars until drafted for the Korean War.

The military recognized his talents by assigning him to secret cryptographic equipment. As he reported in a letter home, he was required to sign a “lifetime promise” never to reveal what he was taught. And he never did! But this may have contributed to the reclusiveness of his later years.

Returning to Maine from Korea with two Bronze Stars for combat area service, he took advantage of the “G.I. Bill” to earn a four-year bachelor’s degree in teaching from Gorham State Teacher’s College (now University of Southern Maine) in 1958. That year he married Dorothy “Dot” McKenney, a year behind him at Gorham. She became a beloved elementary teacher. Bill taught wood and metal work until these subjects were dropped from the school program. Then he served teachers as school maintenance man. He was Ocean Park Postmaster for half a decade until 1964. Bill and Dot’s marriage lasted 58 years, until ended by her death in 2015. He continued to live on Colby Avenue until ill health forced him away.

Thoroughly unassuming, Bill never let on that he was descended from Myles Standish and John Alden of the Mayflower! His surviving first cousins, Nancy Butler Beeuwkes of Concord, Mass. and Richard Butler of Irvine, Calif., remember him with love and admiration. His was a special and unique personality. Every family needs “characters” to add spice to the sauce!

Bill passed away at the age of 92 on Wednesday Jan. 5, 2022 at Seal Rock Healthcare in Saco. Visiting hours are to be held Thursday Jan. 13 from 12 to 1 p.m. at the Dennett Craig and Pate Funeral Home, 365 Main St. Saco. A 1 p.m. service will be held at the funeral home, burial to follow at Laurel Hill Cemetery.

The family request that COVID protocols be observed and mask are required.

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