Anne McLaughlin

Portland - Anne McLaughlin, 91, of State Street in Portland, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family on November 26, 2017. Anne was born in Boston, MA, on February 12, 1926, to John J. Clancy and Bridget Rose (Slaven) Clancy, both of Dundee, Scotland. Her life has been written of many times in various novels of immigrants coming to America in the early 20th century. One of eight children, Anne's mother died when Anne was 6 years old. Her father left America for Scotland shortly thereafter leaving the children as wards of the state of Massachusetts. Each child had her/his own chapter in this story; two were adopted, the eldest was on her own. After many foster homes, Anne, her sister Pat and 3 brothers were settled with the Seabury family in Wakefield, MA where they revived their childhoods and focused their lives to the future. This is where Anne met the love of her life, John, whom she married. John passed away last year just shy of their 70th anniversary. John's job took Anne and the family to live in NY, MD, MA and ME. In 1980, Anne had had enough of the moving and yearned to move back to the coast of Maine. One day she said, "John, I am moving back to Pine Point, you can come if you want." She packed up her car and left, he followed shortly after. They lived for 20 years in Gorham before settling in South Portland and then 75 State Street. For most of her life, Anne worked as a secretary. She had the amazing ability to accurately type over 100 wpm on a manual typewriter. Christmas lists were always written in shorthand so secrets were never revealed. Among the places she worked were: Goucher College and Putnam Tech, before finally retiring from Unum. Anne was always a very vocal Democrat and was proud of her work on both the John and Robert Kennedy presidential races. Last year she said she was glad she was 90 when Trump was elected so she wouldn't have to live through THAT. Her saving grace was the Rachael Maddow Show, which she watched diligently, giving her hope that other people were also paying attention. It seemed every conversation included, "Did you see Rachael last night?" Anne was a seafood lover and very particular about what she ate and where. DiMillo's, Ken's Place and Bayley's Lobster Pound were "it". She loved the beach at Pine Point, but more than that, just the feeling of being there. Anne was an avid on-line scrabble player into her 80's before losing most of her sight to macular degeneration. She would play games with people from all over the world. On occasion when she got beat and the other player would say, "Ha ha I beat you!" Her retort would be, "Well you should, I am in my 80's!", which would immediately shut them up. Anne was also a big Patriots and Red Sox fan and her enthusiasm was often heard by the neighbors in cheers or "instructions for the ref." Very active with the IRIS network, Anne was featured in a story on the television show 207 relating to her macular degeneration. It was her positive attitude and good humor which made her so inspirational. Her life was greatly enriched with the help of her caseworker, Brenda. The day that that Anne mistook her black magic marker for lipstick was legendary in the family. A loudly yelled "STOP" saved her from being a 91 year old gothic grandma. Anne is survived by her sons: John McLaughlin and wife Ann Marie of Standish, Robert McLaughlin and wife Diane of Mechanic Falls; daughters: Gail McLaughlin and wife Pat Collins of Millis, MA, Charlene Weir and husband Bill of Bass Harbor, ME; seven grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. Anne's family would like to thank Dr. Barr and Nurse Cathy for their kindness and caring. Also, to the staff at 75 State Street: Anne's family is eternally grateful for the love and professionalism extended to her. There are no words... A visitation and celebration of Anne's life will be held on Saturday, December 9, from 1:00pm-2:00pm, at Conroy- Tully Walker South Portland Chapel, 1024 Broadway in South Portland. A funeral service will follow at 2:00PM in the chapel. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be sent in Anne's name to: Seventy-five State Street, 75 State Street, Portland, ME 04101.