BATH – Pauline Jackson Thibodeau, 83, of Bath, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family at Mid Coast Hospital on Monday, Feb. 20, 2022. The eldest of four children, Polly was born in Medford, Mass., on August 29, 1938, to Perry S. S. Jackson and Louise Hammond Jackson.Polly graduated from Bangor High School in 1956, and earned a B.S. in Home Economics from the University of Maine Orono in 1960. She married John Allan Thibodeau, of Old Town in 1961, and the young couple moved in the following year to Bath, where they made a permanent home and raised their three children, Mark, Sue, and Gigi. While John managed Sampsons Supermarket, Polly was an accomplished seamstress, teacher, and antiques dealer. At the center of their lives was a commitment to serving the local community, through membership in the Lions Club, the local Chamber of Commerce, and St. Mary’s Church, among many other organizations. Polly was a founding member of Yankee Artisan, a successful and long-lasting craft cooperative in downtown Bath where she sold her beautiful patchwork designs under the name “Polly Patch.” She participated in many local initiatives, helping to create Bath Heritage Days in the 1970s, and worked with her husband and other residents to preserve and enhance the historical charm of their beautiful city. She and John also helped to raise funds for the Maine Marine (Maritime) Museum, where his homemade spaghetti dinner and her magical grasshopper pie were always a popular item up for bid. A gifted and caring educator, Polly taught home economics and math at Bath Junior High School, where she also served as the girls’ track and field coach. Toward the end of her teaching career, she joined the math department at Morse High School. While still teaching, Polly launched a successful business as an antiques dealer, a career that would span three decades. After John passed away in 1984, Polly continued to be an integral part of the community. Brick Store Antiques, the shop she ran with her business partner Barbara Boyland and, later, her sister, Janet Durham, was a popular Front Street meeting-spot for locals and visitors alike. For many years, Polly, with the help of her companion, David Marsh, ran the Bath Antiques Show, a mainstay of the coastal antiques scene. Polly was a core member of Main Street Bath for many years, helping to plan everything from the annual Christmas celebration to the popular trivia competition “So You Think You Know Bath?” In later years, Polly was a loving, generous, and constant supporter of her children and their families. She always cheered on her grandsons, Peter and John Sullivan, at their baseball games and road races. As she grew older, she also travelled widely, from Japan to England and South Carolina, to trips up the coast to her favorite lobster shacks. In 2021, she moved to a cottage at the Plant Memorial Home, where she loved to feed the birds, take pictures of the deer, and lovingly tend to the garden on her deck overlooking the Kennebec River. Polly is predeceased by her husband, John Allan Thibodeau; parents, Perry and Louise Jackson; brothers Douglas and Gregory Jackson, brother-in-law, James Durham; and companion, David Marsh. She is survived by her children Mark Thibodeau and spouse, Steve Allen, of Port Royal, S.C., Susan Thibodeau Sullivan, previously of South Portland and currently of Bath, and Gigi Thibodeau and husband, Todd Avery, of Gorham; sister, Janet Durham, of Bath; grandsons Peter Sullivan, of South Portland, and John Sullivan, previously of South Portland and currently of Bath; nieces Frances Sirois Woodard and husband and La Jessica Jackson, nephews Jason Durham and family, and Roger, Gary, and Peter Sirois and their families; as well as numerous beloved cousins; and grandnieces and grandnephews.A reception and celebration of Polly’s life will be held on Sunday, Feb. 27, from 1 to 3:30 p.m., at J. R. Maxwell’s, 122 Front St., Bath. In lieu of flowers,her family requests that donations be made toMain Street Bath(visitbath.com) orGlobal Lyme Alliance(www.globallymealliance.org).

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