Mary Eileen (Gillespie) Hunter

SCARBOROUGH – During the early morning hours of June 9, 2026, our mother Mary Eileen (Gillespie) Hunter quietly passed away in the presence of her loving family. At the time of her passing she was 98 years old.

She was born on Dec. 22, 1927, in the Gillespie Settlement in Grand Falls, New Brunswick, Canada. She was the sixth of 15 children born to her parents George E. Gillespie and Elizabeth A. (Kavanaugh) Gillespie.

On Oct. 30, 1959, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Grand Falls, she married Eugene A. Hunter, a young widower with four small children. Growing up in such a large family had prepared her well for taking on the challenges that lay ahead. Our Mom remained the loving matriarch of our large, blended family for nearly 70 years.

Mom was a faithful and loving spouse to our Dad for over 50 years. Although their respective roots were in Presque Isle and Grand Falls, they began family life together in Bath, Maine, where our Dad was a teacher and basketball coach. Mom was the consummate wife and homemaker and supported Dad throughout his career that included stints in Bath, Portsmouth, NH and then back home to Maine in South Portland. It was our Dad who received most of the public recognition for his distinguished career as an athletic coach, however he was quick to acknowledge that it took two pairs of hands to hang his many awards on the walls of their home and to acknowledge that his success would not have been possible without Mom’s unwavering love and support.

After Dad’s retirement from education, he and Mom moved from their home in Cape Elizabeth to their retirement condominium next to the Willowdale Golf Course in Scarborough. It was Mom’s turn to shine! And did she ever! She was passionate about her golf. Although she started playing later in life, she quickly developed solid skills that led to her winning the Willowdale Women’s Club Championship many times. When Mom was not playing golf on the course she was working in the pro shop and at the lunch counter and over the years she became a fixture at the course. She was well known to many who shared her passion for the game.

Mom was a communicant of St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church in Scarborough and during her earthly life she lived her faith through many acts of kindness to friends and strangers alike.

Mom was predeceased by her husband Eugene; by her parents George and Elizabeth; and by her siblings Rita Sullivan (late Joe), May Bishop (late Lewis), Bertha Kuntz (late Allen), Edward Gillespie (late Norma), (Dorothy) Earlin Gillespie, Bernard Gillespie (Phyllis), Joe Gillespie, John Gillespie, Marie Finlayson (late Clive) and infant sister Beatrice Anne Gillespie.

She is survived by the children she mothered, Mark Hunter (Debbie). E. Allen Hunter (Jane). Marcia Hunter (PeterWolinsky). George Hunter (Dee), Paul Hunter (Julia), Stephanie (Hunter) Ochsner (Todd) and Dawn (Hunter) Rioux (Rick).

She is survived by her siblings Stephen (late Evelyn), Anne Schofp, Agnes Rosteski (Frank) and Joan Tweedie (Robert); her grandchildren Michael, Lauren, Brian, Jennifer, Matthew, Sarah, Katie, Jamie, Brendan, Annie, Jessica, Nate, Chris, Jeffrey, Catherine, Meaghan, Conor, Else, Cody, Brady, and Cassidy; and 20 great grandchildren. She is also survived by former son-in-law Fred Radke, MD and by a former daughter-in-law Barbara Hunter. In addition, Mom is survived by many much loved cousins, nieces and nephews and by her close friends Betty Holmes of Cape Elizabeth and Mike Ott of Scarborough.

A celebration of life will be held in the fall. Mom will be interred with our father at the Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Caribou, Maine.

In lieu of flowers and in remembrance of our mother, please consider doing an act of kindness for someone else