Sunday, October 6, 2013

Obituary Sunday - Ada Gibbs Balentine

The Lewiston Daily Sun - Oct. 6, 1986
Ada Balentine
Bryant Pond - Ada Gibbs Balentine, 89, of Woodstock and Bethel, died Sunday at Market Square Health Facility in South Paris. 

She was born on Jan. 3, 1897, at Paris, daughter of George and Nina Ellingwood Gibbs. She received her education in schools at Paris and Hallowell. She was married to Walter G. Balentine on Dec. 12, 1916, and resided at Middle Intervale in East Bethel. Mr. Balentine died on July 27, 1943. She spent 36 summers at her log cabin on North Pond in Woodstock. She spent her winters with her daughter and granddaughters in New Jersey and Bethel. Mrs. Balentine was one of the first persons in the area to operate a foster home for young people. She was a practical nurse and devoted much of her time taking care of sick persons in the area. She also was well-known for her ability in handcrafting and carving toy animals. She was an active participant in community affairs and was a member of West Paris Grange, the Eastern Star of Bethel, Sunset Rebekah Lodge of Bethel, a past president of both Jackson-Silver Post and Ring-McKeen Post American Legion Auxiliaries. She was past president to the Oxford County Council American Legion Auxiliary an past president of La Boutique Bes Huit Chateaux et Quartant Fannes, 8/40. She was a member of the Woodstock Senior Citizens. She was a Gold Star Mother. 

She is survived by a niece whom she raised as a daughter from infancy, Mrs. Philip (Ada) Cummings of Roselle Park, N.J.; two granddaughters, Mrs. John (Debra) Swick of Lyndon, N.J., and Mrs. Howard (Macky) Chapman of Bethel; a sister Mrs. Annie F. Cotton of West Paris; three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She was pre-deceased by two sons, Lester Balentine, who died in 1968 and W. Linwood Balentine, who was killed in action in March of 1945 while serving with the U.S. Army in Germany. 

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Ada Gibbs Balentine was my great-grandmother's sister. She was a very special woman. I remember her most for her generosity and hospitality. Many family reunions and smaller get togethers were held at her camp on North Pond. 

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