Gail Ann Harmon

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Gail Ann Harmon

WATERFORD — Gail "Sis" Pike Harmon, 63, of Waterford passed away at home on May 4, 2012 following a brave battle with cancer. She was born in Bridgton on May 1, 1949 to John and Phyllis Pike (both deceased) of North Bridgton. She graduated from Bridgton High School in the Class of 1967. After graduation, she lived in Portland and worked at the Maine Credit Union League.

She married Stan Harmon, her high-school sweetheart and the love of her life, on February 15, 1969. She was primarily a home maker in Bridgton, except for a year that her family lived in Grants Pass, OR in the mid-1980s. After raising her two children, she started two Bridgton area businesses: "The Cover Girls," a painting and wallpapering business, with her sister and then "The Fair Exchange" consignment store, which she ran with her husband and Karen Norton.

Mrs. Harmon's passions included her family, her many, many friends and most recently, spending time with her grandchildren. She was a voracious reader and she also enjoyed gardening, walking and cooking for everyone. She always enjoyed campfires and holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Easter, as well as any family gathering. Grace, beauty, dignity, generosity, her warmth and ability to mentor younger women as well as making everyone she met feel special, are some of her most memorable attributes, along with her wonderful smile.

Surviving Mrs. Harmon is her husband of 43 years, Stan; her son, Steve, his wife Varvara, and their daughter Kate; her daughter, Natalie Veilleux, her husband, Jason and grandson, Owen; her older brother, Dale Pike and his wife, Jill, of Berlin, NH, Dale's son Daniel, and their daughter, Megan; her brother-in-law, Dennis Chadbourne, of Melbourne, FL, his daughter, Kristine Rogers, and his son, Jason Chadbourne. She was pre-deceased by her younger sister, Faye Chadbourne.

Mrs. Harmon's guiding philosophy is embodied in Teilhard de Chardin's quotation: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a physical experience."

In keeping with this philosophy, there will be a graveside service at the North Bridgton Cemetery, 63 Kimball Road, North Bridgton on Saturday, May 19 at 1 p.m. Following the graveside ceremony, there will be a celebration of her life at the Bridgton Academy Dining Hall, 1 Hancock Drive, North Bridgton, from 2 to 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, Mrs. Harmon wished to have donations made to either Androscoggin Home Health and Hospice Care, PO Box 819, Lewiston, ME 04240 or the American Cancer Society, 1 Main St, Topsham, ME 04086. Arrangements are under the care of Direct Cremation of Maine, 182 Waldo Avenue, Belfast. On-line condolences may be offered to the family at www.directcremationofmaine.com.