ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. – James Gilchrest Skoglund, of St. George, died on the morning of Feb. 23, 2022 at his sister Sonja Faulkingham’s home in Zephyrhills, Fla. Although his health had been failing in recent years, his sudden and unexpected passing stunned his family and friends.

Born in St. George on May 6, 1940, the son of Sten Bertil and Marianne Williamson (Gilchrest) Skoglund, Jim was a 1958 graduate of St. George High School and a 1962 graduate of Gorham State Teachers College. Jim began his long and distinguished teaching career in the Whitefield school system and afterwards taught junior high in the Thomaston Academy Building until his retirement in 1996.

He was then elected to the Maine State Legislature for three terms. His caring and compassionate nature was often reflected in the political positions he took on behalf of those whose voices might not otherwise have been heard.

Jim was a deacon in the First Baptist Church at Wiley’s Corner, St. George, and an active and long-time member of the St. George Grange. He was also a custodian of the records of the North Parish Association and served many years as the sexton, mowing and caring for the two cemeteries on either side of the church.

Jim was one of the leading authorities on the history of St. George and the surrounding towns and was the most knowledgeable person concerning the history and genealogy of the inhabitants of the northern part of St. George. Jim could have told you exactly how he was related to many of the inhabitants of St. George and beyond.

In 1991, he was one of the principal architects and founders of the St. George Historical Society. His many significant and lasting contributions to the preservation of the town’s history included forging an agreement with the Marshall Point Lighthouse Committee that renovated and made that facility the showplace it is today. He was singularly instrumental in acquiring the Andrew Robinson Homestead from the late Ruth Hazelton and, for nearly 30 years, kept records and made audio-visual recordings of monthly public meetings relating to aspects of the town’s history.

Many St. George residents will remember Jim for his Memorial Day tributes, his first when he was in the 6th grade, and for his role as a calm, fair, and often witty moderator of annual town meetings.

Jim lived frugally and independently and on his own terms in his beloved home, the “Old John Gilchrest Farm,” on land that was in his mother’s family shortly after the Revolutionary War.

Jim is survived by his first wife, Carol J. (Bragg) Gray, of Brooksville, second wife, Doreen (Prior) Madden, of Bath; two daughters, Elizabeth “Lizzie” M. (Skoglund) Gray and her husband Robert C. Gray of Minneapolis, Minn., and Kathryn ”Kate” Skoglund of St. Petersburg, Fla.; his brother, Robert K. “The humble Farmer” Skoglund and his wife Marsha of St. George, his sister, Sonja K. (Skoglund) Faulkingham, of Zephyrhills, Fla., his sister, Marta E. (Skoglund) Sisco and her husband Mark A. Sisco of St. George; six grandchildren whom he loved very much; several nieces and nephews and cousins galore; and a considerable number of friends from St. George and across the country.

James Skoglund will long be remembered and revered as a wise, knowledgeable, kind and generous man with a keen and ready wit, who enriched and inspired many lives through his good works.

A memorial service will be held at the First Baptist Church at Wiley’s Corner, St. George at 12 p.m. on Saturday, May 28. A luncheon will be served beside the church following the interment at the cemetery.

The family thanks Jim’s close friend and neighbor, historian Steven Sullivan, for writing this.

In lieu of flowers please send donations to

St. George Historical Society,

P.O. Box 14,

Tenants Harbor, ME 04860