Carolyn R. Wilson

Carolyn 'Cal' Ruth Wilson, 88, local artist and teacher of Shapleigh, passed away in Sanford, Maine on August 28, 2008. Known by her family and friends as Cal, she was an artist and a teacher, giving painting lessons in her home and surrounding communities for nearly 50 yearsBorn in Fairfield, Maine, on July 9, 1920 to Maynard and Ruth Brophy Wilson, Cal grew up in Springvale and graduated from Sanford High with her brother Robert. At Emerson College in Boston she studied dramatic arts and went on to work in radio at WGAN in Portland. She taught speech and theater courses at Nasson College and was active in the Sanford-Springvale Little Theatre group. For many years she worked in the family business, M.R. Wilson and Son, and ran Wilson's Art Supplies and Framing in KennebunkCal had a love for great music and good theater, but she will always be remembered for her paintings and her art classes. She had an unusual ability to be an objective instructor on the job, while many of her students also became close friends who continued to visit when she could no longer paint. Her still-life, seascape, and portrait paintings in oils, pastels, and watercolors decorate homes across the United States. A commissioned oil portrait of Orlo Williams hangs in the Springvale Public Library, and one of Carl Lamb is displayed in the Carl Lamb School in Sanford. A member of Maine Women in the Arts and the Sanford-Springvale Art Association, Cal taught the "Brush Strokes" class in Sanford for more than 25 yearsAfter moving from the Wilson family home on Pleasant St. in Springvale, she lived in Shapleigh in a house built for her by her brother and his wife on the farm that was settled by the Wilsons in the 1700s. Above all, Cal loved her family. She took great pride in the endeavors of her nieces and nephews and their children, always encouraging them to be thoughtful individuals, to see beauty in the ordinary, and to enjoy life to the fullest.She is survived by her brother, Robert; nephews Richard A. Wilson of Portland and Stephen M. Wilson, his wife Margaret and their family of Virginia; and nieces Janet Beaumont of Maryland and Catherine Wilson of Portland and her children. In all, she had seven great nieces and nephews and seven great-great nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at 2pm on Tuesday September 2nd at the Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home, 580 Main Street, Springvale. In lieu of flowers, donations should go to Maine Women in the Arts, PO Box 338, Kennebunkport ME 04046.To leave the family a message of condolence please use the "condolences" tab to the left.