Arthur L. MacVane

Gray – Arthur L. MacVane, 77, passed away on June 21, 2025, in Portland, with his family by his side. Arthur was born on Dec. 18, 1947, in Portland, the son of the late Ellsworth and Mary (Bennett) MacVane.

He was a 1966 graduate of Deering High School and a 1970 graduate of the University of Southern Maine. He spent summers during high school as a lifeguard at the Kiwanis and East End pools. In August of 1970, he was drafted into the Army and graduated from the Army Language School as a North Vietnamese translator/interpreter. Stationed in Vietnam and Korea, he translated North Vietnamese radio messages and tracked enemy troops. In later years, he loved to confound his doctors and nurses by lapsing into Vietnamese.

Back in the States, he worked for the Portland Public Library and for several years, he drove the Bookmobile. In 1981, he joined the U.S. Postal Service, retiring in 2011 as Statistical Programs Manager for Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. It was there that he began a lifetime friendship with Jim McCormick.

In the early 1980s, he and several friends organized and coached a girls’ traveling soccer team composed of girls from the Cumberland County area. They competed against teams throughout New England, often staying with host families. He began with his oldest daughter Julie and ended with his youngest daughter Lisa in 1992. He also coached the Windham High School girls’ basketball team from 1991-93 and the Windham Middle School girls’ soccer team for several years.

With the birth of his first grandchild, Conner in 1994, he became a lifetime Gramp/Grampy, softening his sometimes crusty edges and filling his heart. In 2010, Art and Marcia built a year-round home on Little Sebago Lake, replacing the family camp built in 1957. Children and grandchildren were able to spend idyllic summers there. Using his lifeguard training, all three of his children and all seven of his grandchildren learned how to swim there at very early ages. They all have experienced the infamous muck fight against the Muck Monster himself, hating it and loving it at the same time. And the fishing….long hours, rain or shine, out on the lake alone or with one or more grandchildren. A notebook recording catches over the years will hopefully be continued.

In 2017, he had a double lung transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital, experiencing complications resulting in kidney failure. He often said he traded his lungs for his kidneys – “a good trade”. He received treatment three days per week at Casco Bay Dialysis in Westbrook, calling it his “part-time job”. He enjoyed bantering with the staff, many of whom were very special to him, and talking with fellow patients.

He also enjoyed traveling to the national parks with his favorites being Glacier and Zion. He hiked the precarious climb to Angel’s Landing at Zion at least twice. His last hike was at Big Bend in 2014 when his symptoms from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis began to limit him. Trips with Art always included an unexpected confrontation with some wild animal, a tent being blown away or getting lost on some remote “shortcut”.

Arthur was predeceased by his brother, Peter MacVane. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Marcia Durdan MacVane; a son, Andrew MacVane of South Portland; two daughters, Dr. Lisa MacVane of Beverly, Mass., and Julie Arsenault of Gray; seven grandchildren: Conner, Chloe, Casey, and Caleb MacVane; Lyndsey Currie, and Cameron and Brendan Arsenault; special cousins, Charlene Courtemanche and Vicki Bennett; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Visiting hours will be held from 1:30-3 p.m. Monday, June 30, 2025, at the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Homes of South Portland, 1024 Broadway, South Portland, followed by a 3 p.m. service at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Arthur’s memory to Little Sebago Lake Association, PO Box 912, Windham, ME 04062-0912, or online at https://littlesebagolake.com/giving/