Maude Erskine Banta was born on Aug. 13, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York, to James Douglas Erskine and Marguerite Maxwell Ogilvie. She was the oldest of three sisters and was raised in a loving multi-generational home. She was a lifelong Dodgers fan even after they left her hometown of Brooklyn.
Maude graduated from Packer Institute in Brooklyn and attended Wells College in Aurora, New York. During a family summer vacation, she caught a glimpse of a handsome redhead and knew she had met her future husband. Maude wed John Stuart Banta in October 1943 and they were married for 57 years.
Maude worked at The Colony Hotels in Maine and Florida, splitting the year going north and south, as a director of purchasing. She also prepared flower arrangements for the lobby, dining rooms and for guests with extended stays, and she also wrote the Colony Newsletters. Maude was dedicated to the family’s hotels and worked for the hotels well into her eighties.
Maude was a devout Christian who was on the altar guild at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Kennebunkport and St. Paul Episcopal Church in Delray Beach, Florida. She traveled with her church group to Honduras to help girls in need. Maude was a docent at the Morikami Museum in Delray Beach and the Taylor Barry House in Kennebunk.
Maude was dedicated to health and wellness before it was in vogue, playing tennis or golf daily throughout the year. She and her husband could be seen pedaling their bikes through downtown Delray to the public tennis courts. In her later years, she swam laps daily.
Maude traveled throughout her life to distant lands and shared her travels with her family through her keen photography and written journals. She was an avid gardener who could be found many afternoons with a basket of flowers draped over her arm and she was an environmentalist at heart.
Maude died peacefully at age 97 at her home in Delray Beach on May 15, 2022. She is survived by her loving family: her sister Margot Atwood, her daughter Carol Banta Walker, her son John Erskine Banta, her five grandchildren, John Edward Martin, Hilary Martin Roche, Paige Martin, Aloveiz Heredic, Nick Banta, her goddaughter Barbara Backer, her four great-grandchildren, who fondly called her GG, and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
Maude was an avid writer of letters to family and friends, and occasionally to people she hardly knew. Her letters were full of humor and details and could brighten the recipient’s day. In lieu of flowers, please write a letter to a friend or family member.
A Memorial Service was held on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, in Delray Beach. A celebration of life will take place in Kennebunkport this August.
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