KENNEBUNK — Eleanor Best, 88, of Kennebunk, died May 26, 2015, at Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford.

Eleanor was born Sept. 21, 1926 in Flushing, New York to William G. and Bernice (Siemion) Deane. She graduated from Flushing High School, and then earned a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Queens College, Class of 1948.

In August 1949, she married Richard James Best, and the newlyweds moved to Providence, Rhode Island, where he was studying for a doctorate at Brown University.

Eleanor devoted her life to family, friends, and her profession as a social worker. She worked for a year before her marriage as a case worker for mentally challenged adults in Long Island, New York. In the 1960s she became the first school social worker in the Saco school system. Later, she managed the Kennebunk Meals on Wheels program for a time.

Early in retirement she volunteered at Laudholm Farm and spent time traveling with her husband. When he became ill, she managed his care at home until 2012.

As she grew older, she became a tireless advocate for the aged, often requesting additional services in Kennebunk for the elderly and their caregivers. For example, when “Matter of Balance” classes were offered locally, she attended in 2013 and encouraged others to participate.

Over the years, she valued friendships formed through activities like the Christ Church Bridge Group and Marriage Encounter. Eleanor was active in Parish Council in the 1970s and had been a parishioner since 1963 at St. Martha’s Church, Kennebunk. She loved to spend time at their cottage on Rangeley Lake, where she was a parishioner at Our Lady of the Lakes, Oquossoc.

Eleanor is preceded in death by: her husband, Richard, in 2014; and by her sister, Mary Elaine Comish.

Eleanor is lovingly remembered by: her son, Richard Deane Best of Kennebunk; her daughter, Kathleen Best Gillmann and husband Ralph of Burke, Virginia; and her sister, Bernice Deane Codella of Amityville, New York.

Friends may visit on Sunday, June 7 from 2-5 p.m. at Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer Street, Kennebunk, ME.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, June 8 at 11 a.m. at Holy Spirit Parish, St. Martha’s Church, Kennebunk, with interment following at Hope Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to: National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc., 2600 Network Blvd., Suite 300, Frisco, TX 75034.

Arrangements are in care of Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer Street, Kennebunk, ME 04043.