Theodore W. Sottery

Portland-Theodore Walter Sottery passed away peacefully on March 19, 2017. He was born on February 8, 1927, in Lebanon, PA to C. Theodore and Emma Lou (Walter) Sottery. He spent his childhood in Annandale-On-Hudson, NY (the Bard College campus) and spent summers on Lake Wentworth in NH. Ted attended high school at the Putney School in Vermont and graduated in 1944. On his 17th birthday, he volunteered for the U.S. Navy and was placed in their V-12 officers training program. He completed officer training at Dartmouth College, earning his BS in Naval Science in 1946, and was commissioned as an Ensign in the Navy. After leaving the Navy, Ted studied chemistry at Clark University and there he met his future wife, Mary Laggis. They married in 1949 and began a wonderful life together. They moved to NYC where Ted did graduate work at Columbia and Mary taught at the Brearley School. He also worked at Dupont during this time. In 1952, during the Korean War, Ted entered the Navy again and was based in Coronado, CA where he proudly served as an officer under the command of Marine Gen. Louis B. (Chesty) Puller, a man he revered for the rest of his life. During his second stint in the Navy, he served for 2 years and was promoted to Lieutenant JG, and was also stationed in Taiwan, and Okinawa. Ted and Marys first son, Peter was born in CA. Upon Teds discharge from the Navy, they packed their belongings, and 6 week old baby, and headed cross country to Maine. Ted got an assistantship at the University of Maine at Orono, where he completed his MS in Chemistry, and later became an assistant professor of Chemistry. Ted and Mary had 3 more children, Ellen, John, and Paul while they lived in Orono. In 1961, Ted took a position at the University of Southern Maine at Portland and they moved the whole family south to Portland. Ted completed his PhD in 1966 and later became a full professor at USM, where he spent the next 28 years, retiring as Professor Emeritus in 1989. During his time at USM he developed and taught a course in environmental studies. He was a speaker at the first Earth Day in 1970 at USM, where he predicted that all cars in the future would be equipped with catalytic converters (to reduce emissions) and that lead would be removed from gasoline. Ted and Mary loved Maine and led an active life with their children spending time at their tiny log cabin in South Bridgton, their cottage in Steuben, and at their relatives farm in VT. Ted was an avid outdoorsman and led his family on many adventures including, hiking, backpacking, XC skiing, snowmobiling, motorcycling, boating, canoeing and hunting. Ted and Mary enjoyed several motorcycle road trips to Canada, retirement trips to FL, and a memorable trip to Greece to celebrate their seventieth birthdays. Ted was a huge sports fan which began with his time playing football for Dartmouth. The rest of his life he cheered for the Dartmouth and Navy football teams, and also the Duke basketball team. His two favorite teams would always be the Red Sox and Patriots. He watched the Patriots win the Super Bowl last month with his son John, and remarked that he couldnt have had a better 90th birthday present than their huge win. Ted was also a talented woodcarver and photographer. Ted suffered a great loss in 2009 when he lost his beloved wife, Mary. They were married for 60 years. He continued to miss her every day for the rest of his life. He dealt with many health issues in his last years but kept a positive attitude and was happy to be able to stay in his own home. He was proud and thrilled to attain the age of 90 last month at a celebration with his family. Ted was predeceased by his wife, Mary; sister, Ann; sister-in-law, Lennie; and brothers-in-law, Hermann and Peter. He is survived by son, Peter and wife Lucille of Cape Elizabeth; daughter, Ellen McCarty and husband John of Falmouth; son, John and wife Shauna of Mt. Pleasant, SC; son, Paul and wife Linnea of Portland; grandchildren, Paulina, Britt, Kristina, Annika, Angelique, and Zachary Sottery; step-grandsons, Ian and Brett McCarty, step-granddaughter, Lauren Springer; step-great grandson, Charlie Springer; brother-in-law and sister-in-law John, and Pat Laggis; sister-in-law, Ann Laggis; and many nieces and nephews. The family is forever grateful to Gail Terison for the wonderful care she took of Ted. In his later years he relied on her daily and she was a good friend to him as well. Thanks also to his physician, Dr. Mark Bouchard, who Ted held in high regard and greatly respected. Visiting hours will be held on Friday, March 24, 2017, from 4:00pm to 7:00pm at the Conroy-Tully Walker South Portland Chapel, 1024 Broadway. A service will be held at the funeral home on Saturday, March 25, 2017, at 10:00am followed by a burial in Evergreen Cemetery, Stevens Ave., Portland. To view Teds memorial page, or to share an online condolence, please visit www.ConroyTullyWalker.com If so desired, contributions in Teds memory may be made to the Portland Maine Salvation Army, 297 Cumberland Ave. Portland, ME 04101