Eveleen C. Tuttle

Eveleen C. TuttleSanfordEveleen C. Tuttle, 102 years old of Sanford died Thursday afternoon August 9, 2001 at the Sanford Health Care Facility.Mrs. Tuttle was born on October 27, 1898 in Billerica, MA. She was the daughter of Irving and Lidia Bacon England. She had lived in New Hampshire until a teenager and then moved with her family to Portland, ME.She then met her husband to be Martin Tuttle Sr., was married and began a family of her own that included 17 children. At that time Mrs. Tuttle worked at Dana Wop Textiles. In 1933 the entire family moved from Portland to Limington. In 1939 Mrs. Tuttle was faced with the sudden death of her husband and was left to care for her family on her own. In 1940 the family moved to Limerick for a brief time and then to Waterboro. While trying to make ends meet Mrs. Tuttle went back to work at the Limerick Yarn Mills. She along with her son Stanley would walk 2.5 miles to catch the bus to Limerick for work, and would return home at midnight walking the same 2.5 miles back to her home in the dark. While she was working her eldest daughter Rose would care for the rest of the children. In 1943 Mrs. Tuttle and her family moved to Sanford. She then took up work at the Sanford Goodall Mills until it's closing. She finally retired in 1962 from Jagger Mills in Sanford.Mrs. Tuttle had seen many changes in her lifetime. She watched the nation change through WWI, WWII, the Korean War and Vietnam War. She saw the change from horse and buggy to automobile, radio to satellite TV, and campfires to the microwave oven. She was a historian in her own sense simply by living a long and prosperous life that can be attributed to hard work and the ability to adapt to the changes that life had presented her.Mrs. Tuttle was a communicant of St. Ignatius R.C. Church of Sanford; where she was also a member of the Crusades. She was also a member of the Sanford Fire Auxiliary and loved to knit, crochet, and pick and eat blueberries.When asked about her passing her son Stanley said, " The top hen in the coop will surely be missed."Predeceasing her is her husband Martin Sr., and sons Joseph, Clarence, Woodrow Sr., Wallace, and Ralph.Surviving are 8 sons, Martin Jr., John, and Maurice of Sanford, ME; Stanley of Shapleigh, ME, Edward of Enfield, CT, Harry of Ft. Pierce, FL, Richard of Naples, FL and William of Alfred, ME; 4 daughters, Rose Tuttle, Betty Bernier, and Beatrice Sevigney of Sanford, ME and Helena Campbell of Wells, ME. Also surviving are 39 grandchildren, and many great grandchildren.A period of visitation will be held from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM Sunday August 12, 2001 at the Heald Funeral Home, Springvale. Friends are invited to meet the family at church for a 9:00 AM Funeral Mass at St. Ignatius Church in Sanford on Monday August 13, 2001. Burial will be at Limington Village Cemetery.