AUBURN – Fred A. Huntress Jr., 90, passed away with his daughter and son-in-law at his bedside in the early morning hours of Nov. 16, 2023, at the Androscoggin Hospice House in Auburn.

Fred was born Oct. 2, 1933, at Central Maine General Hospital in Lewiston, Maine and raised in Auburn, Maine. He was the elder son of Fred A. Huntress and Mary Stiles Huntress. He graduated from Edward Little High School in 1951 and from the University of Maine in 1955 with a BS in Forestry.

Fred was employed by Eastern Pulpwood Company out of Calais, Maine from June 1955 to January 1956. He served in the U.S. Army from February 1956 through December 1957, stationed in postwar South Korea.

Fred married Shirley H. Sanders of St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada in December 1955. He began work as a consulting forester with New England Forestry Foundation and worked for them and also New England Forestry Consultants until he retired. He demonstrated various skills in his forestry work. He was a licensed forester, land surveyor, real estate appraiser, and real estate broker. He could offer complete forestry services in one location. In addition to his work as a consulting forester he started buying and managing his own forest lands. He enjoyed weeding, thinning, pruning, and harvesting his own timber and estimates he planted more than 50,000 trees. Over the years he spent thousands of hours in his woods. His pride and joy was the Rattlesnake Mountain lot in Casco and Raymond where he maintained the Bri-Mar trail in memory of his children, Brian and Marlene, who passed away in December of 1966. His granddaughter Alexandra is the fourth generation of the Huntress Family to hike the mountain with him.

Of all the trees in the forest, his favorite was the white oak. His interest in this species probably began when he and Brian dug up a small sapling at Rattlesnake Mountain and transplanted it to their home. In all the millions of board feet of timber he marked for cutting during his active years of forestry he never marked a white oak for cutting. For several years he raised white oaks and donated them to the Maine Forest Products Council for their annual fundraising auction. These trees are now growing well outside of their natural range. Fred was active in many branches of government in Poland since he moved there in 1961, including the planning board, board of selectmen, board of appeals, conservation commission, and the trail committee. Fred was the town forester for the Town of Poland from 1964 until his death. He was also an active member of the Stanton Bird Club for many years and served as president for several years. He was instrumental in acquiring land for the bird club during his active years. Fred served as president of the Poland Historical Society for several years and was a lifetime member. As the license plate BIG TREE on his pickup truck indicated, he was a dedicated advocate of the Maine Register of Big Trees and nominated several species during his forestry career. He found a national record Eastern Larch (Hackmatack) in Jay in 1966.

Fred was predeceased by his wife Shirley and their two children, Brian and Marlene.

He is survived by his daughter, Dr. Laurie Huntress, her husband Josh Hounsell, granddaughter Alexandra Hounsell of Hebron and his brother Richard C. Huntress of Auburn.

Fred would like to thank his mother for teaching him about trees and birds and flowers, his father for taking him hunting and fishing, his wife for putting up with him for 55 years, and Laurie, Josh, and Alexandra for giving him hope for the future of his family.

The family would like to thank Elite Home Care of Buckfield and Androscoggin Homecare and Hospice for exceptional care the past four months.

Graveside services will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, at 1 p.m., at Pine Grove Cemetery in Poland. Family and friends may attend visitation on Monday evening, Nov. 27, 2023, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Chandler Funeral Homes & Cremation Service, 26 W. Dwinal St., Mechanic Falls. Online condolences may be shared with his family at http://www.chandlerfunerals.com.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Pine Tree Camp, 114 Pine Tree Camp Road, Rome ME 04963 – pinetreesociety.org. Pine Tree Camp is a summer camp for both children and adults with disabilities. They offer a full outdoor recreational experience. Fred thought highly

of their mission.

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