Russell Wilbur

PORTLAND – Outgoing friend and helper, Russell Wilbur, 75, of Portland, died Aug. 15, 2024, at his home while recovering from surgery.

He was born in Waterville and attended schools there, but left school at 15. He moved to Portland as a young man and remained for many decades.

He was a laborer and restaurant worker, and later in life owned his own housecleaning business, Sparkle. He was active in Alcoholics Anonymous for more than 50 years, and helped many people at various stages of that journey, including helping to start the first meetings specifically focused on gay and lesbian people in recovery. An outgoing and social man, he made many friends throughout his life.

Mr. Wilbur was a gay man who enjoyed painting picture frames, visiting Montreal with friends, and attending the Pride parade in costume each year. He had many supportive and good friends who helped care for him in his later years.

In 2019, he was interviewed by two students from the University of Southern Maine, Riley Kirk and Sam Penley, about what it was like to grow up in the 1960s and 1970s as a gay man in Maine, and about the early days of the AIDS epidemic.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Parkinson’s Foundation, https://www.parkinson.org/