Rebecca Boynton (Brown) Hamblin

SCARBOROUGH – What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Rebecca Boynton (Brown) Hamblin died on Sunday, July 28, 2024, her 98th birthday, at the Holbrook Health Center of Piper Shores in Scarborough, Maine. Her long life was dedicated to service as a teacher, citizen, volunteer, and the heart and soul of her family.

Becky was born on July 28, 1926, the oldest child of Edwin and Eleanor Tukey Brown. She grew up during the Great Depression in North Berwick, Maine. With her father, she raised pigs and chickens and hunted for rabbits and deer. Her mother taught her how to cook classic New England dishes such as baked beans and fish chowder.

After graduating first in her high school class of eight students, Becky attended Simmons College in Boston. Despite her small-town upbringing, Becky took to big city life, visiting art museums and heading to Fenway Park to watch Ted Williams play. During her college years, Becky lived with her aunt, Katherine Hall, who was her role model for the rest of her life.

One summer, Becky and two college friends went to Wyoming to work as cooks for a dude ranch near Jackson Hole. Becky loved to tell stories about this great adventure and her experiences cooking on a wood stove, rounding up horses, and meeting one of the last true cowboys.

Around this time, Becky began dating her neighbor’s brother, Edward Hamblin. Edward (she never called him “Ed”) was the love of her life. Edward sold his beloved Buick to buy Becky’s engagement ring, and they were married in 1950. The marriage lasted for 68 years, until Edward’s death in 2018, at age 99.

Becky and Edward’s early years of marriage were marked by the birth of their three daughters and by many moves. With a B.S. in Home Economics, Becky was an accomplished homemaker. In addition to raising the children, cooking, and working on home repairs, she was a superb seamstress who made clothes that were works of art. In 1964, the family moved to Peterborough, NH.

In Peterborough, Becky came into her own. She began an 18-year career in public education, first as an elementary school teacher and later as part of a team that developed a pioneering student assessment program.

Becky was a leading member of the Peterborough Unitarian Church, which she served as President among many other roles. She and Edward formed many deep friendships through the church. The Unitarian values of helping others in this life, tolerance, and social justice guided Becky and Edward throughout their lives.

Becky and Edward retired from paid work in 1986, but their decades of volunteer work were just beginning. They helped found and volunteered countless hours at Peterborough’s first homeless shelter. They were also deeply involved with the local adult day care center, which served patients suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. Becky served as Chair of the Harris Center for Conservation Education. In 2001, Becky and Edward were honored as Peterborough’s Citizens of the Year for their many contributions to the community.

In 2001, Becky and Edward moved to Maine and joined the Piper Shores retirement community. There they picked up where they’d left off: tutoring, volunteering at a soup kitchen, visiting with older Piper Shores residents, and serving on resident committees.

Throughout her life, Becky was an example to others. She never did anything by half measures, never left a note unanswered or a task undone. She had a razor-sharp mind and was not shy about expressing her opinion. She loved the old Maine ways and personified the Yankee values of thrift, hard work, independence, and enlightened thinking.

Becky loved music and loved to sing show tunes from the 20s and 30s. She enjoyed parties and often wore costumes that she sewed herself to holiday gatherings at Piper Shores.

Becky’s health and memory declined in her later years. Thankfully, her love of reading remained with her, and she could often be found with a book by Jane Austen or Ralph Waldo Emerson. She became a well-known personality around Piper Shores in her hat, purple clothing and colorful socks, always accompanied by her stuffed dog, Isabella. When daughter Rebecca would call and ask how she was doing, Becky would say “Not bad for an old bird.”

Becky is survived by her sister Janice Collins of Forest Grove, Ore.; daughters Penelope Hamblin and her husband Willis Hintz of South Portland, Rebecca Howes Hamblin and her husband Louis Hoffman of Minneapolis; grandsons Benjamin Edward Hoffman and his fiancée Erica Ditmore of Kirkland, Wash. and Radik Nicholas Hoffman of Minneapolis; and John Lis and Cory Foster of Ithaca, NY. Becky and Edward’s daughter Martha Treadwell Hamblin died in 2015. Becky is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews, many of whom live in Maine and became a second family for Becky and Edward after their move to Piper Shores.

Becky’s family thanks Dr. Mark Braun, who was both her doctor and a cherished friend to Becky. The family also thanks the exceptional staff of Piper Shores throughout our mother’s life, from Independent Living to Assisted Living to Memory Care and the Holbrook Health Center.

Plans for a gathering to commemorate Becky’s life are pending.

Becky loved to tell her family: “Never forget you come from a long line of seafaring men.” We wish fair winds and following seas to our beloved mother, grandmother, sister, and aunt.

Condolences may be expressed to the family online at http://www.hobbsfuneralhome.com.