Louise F. Bennett

South Portland-Elma Louise Ficken Bennett died in South Portland, Maine on June 7, 2015. She was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, July 15, 1929 to Elma Louise Michel Ficken and Clarence Elwood Ficken, Ph. D. Lou grew up in St. Paul until the age 16 when her father became the dean of Ohio Wesleyan University, and she and her family moved to Delaware, OH.She graduated in 1951 with a BA in English from Ohio Wesleyan, where she was affiliated with Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. There she was president of the YWCA and a member of Mortor Board, a national senior womens honorary society, and Kappa Delta Pi. Her parents and her sister, Ruth Anne Ficken Gustad, predeceased her. She is survived by her spouse and partner of 26 years, Concetta Domenico; three children, Michael DeHart (Takoma Park, MD), Jean DeHart (Charlotte, NC);, and Amy DeHart , and her husband, S. Morris Trimmer (Lexington, VA);a niece, Ann Gustad Leiker (Hays, KS); four grandchildren, and her devoted dog, Sophie. Fresh from college, Lou was a high school English teacher and a hospital lab technician. She was an active member of the League of Women Voters and the River Road Unitarian Church. Lou loved to play tennis, sail, and ski. At the age of 51, after working for the American Cancer Society, she earned her Masters in Social Work from the Catholic University. She took a windjammer cruise to Maine and she fell in love with Portland Me and then relocated here. She became licensed as a social worker and worked in both public and private practice settings, assisting many people. She also became well known for her letters to the Editorin OUR Portland papers. She was a lover of nature and deeply influenced by childhood summers at her grandparents farm in Tipton, IN and by attending camp in rural Minnesota. Her love of nature and concern for ecological health was expressed in writings, including essays and poems. She played the flute and piano for many years and enjoyed art and music, especially jazz.She relished the fellowship of various writing groups and a long-standing book group. She was a member of Allen Avenue Unitarian Church. She was deeply concerned about social justice issues and worked for womens rights most of her life. She engaged in the political process by working for candidates from Dwight Eisenhower to George McGovern, and Chellie Pingree to Barak Obama. She was a gifted punster and almost never lost a game of Chinese checkers. A graveside blessing will be held at Calvary Cemetery, Holy Redeemer Section, on Friday, June 12, 2015 at 10:00am. Arrangements are under the direction of the Conroy-Tully Crawford Funeral Home, 172 State Street, Portland, ME. Online condolences may be expressed at www.ctcrawford.com In lieu of flowers, please make memorial contributions to Hospice of Southern Maine, 180 US Route One, Scarborough, Maine