Vito Allan Ancona

He was born on March 23,1942 in Holyoke, Ma. to the late Vito & Lillian (Mowbray) Ancona. He was the first born of three children, followed by two sisters, Judith & Kathleen.

His youth was filled with memories of sitting by the flight line where his Dad was stationed watching all types of military aircraft land & take off. Spending most summer vacations with his Italian grandparents at their bungalow in Riverhead, Long Island, NY was another lifelong treasured memory.

Being the son of a career military man, he attended schools in New York, Conn., & Maine, graduating from Lisbon High School in 1961. Upon graduation he proudly entered the United States Air Force & in 1962 married his high school sweetheart, Ruth Elizabeth French in Lisbon, Maine. They shared 62 years together.

His military service took them to Travis A.F.B. in Fairfield, Calif., where their son Troy was born. Vito was later transferred to Ramstein A.F.B. Germany, where he continued to serve as a Communication Specialist. His service overseas allowed his family to travel through & enjoy several European countries.

Following discharge Vito & his family returned to Lisbon Falls where they eventually bought their first home, and their long awaited daughter Traci joined their family. Vito worked for the Harding Plant in Bath for a short time, did Civil Service work for several years in Communications at Brunswick Naval Air Station, became a reserve police officer for the Lisbon Police Dept. and then full time officer there for several more years, until moving on to complete his career at the Lewiston Police Dept. He was also a Dedimus Justice for the State of Maine. Vito owned & operated Tri-Village Locksmith for many years, & led the Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers (F.C.P.O.) during & following his career at the Lewiston Police Dept.

Fishing, hunting, hiking, archery, boating, trips to the ocean, yearly summer vacations at a cottage in the Oxford Hills, road trips across the country to Colorado, to PE.I., Nova Scotia, and down the East Coast were pastimes he fully enjoyed. There were also memorable trips to Long Island, N.Y. visiting his family.

He was proud of his Italian heritage and did much research on Ancestry. He enjoyed his grandchildren, playing with them & watching them grow. He also enjoyed making people laugh.

Vito is predeceased by his parents, Vito & Lillian Ancona, In-laws William & Lora French, sister Kathleen Desantis, sister-in-law Clara Drown, husband Bayne Drown, aunt Anne and son Joseph Moreno, aunt Terry & Uncle Lido Ghezzi, & nephew-in law Scott Drown.

He leaves behind his wife Ruth Elizabeth (Lisbon Falls), son Troy, wife Gerilyn (Durham), daughter Traci (Lisbon Falls), sister Judith White, husband Rick (CO) extended family (VA) & GA), sister-in-law Carol Rodzen, husband Hillman (Lisbon Falls) extd. family (Auburn) & (Bowdoin), brother in law Rich DeSantis (NY) extd. family (NY) (FI) & (SC), The Xiques family, (NY), The Ghezzis (FI) extd. family (TX) & (GA), The Moreno families (NY), The Carrs (NH) extd. family (NH) & (MA), The Drowns (TX), extd. family (CT) (IA) & (TX), Grace Drown (ME) extd. family (PA) & (CA), The Caves (MA.), grandson Anthony Ancona, wife Lauren (GA), grandson Evan Ancona (Lisbon), grand daughter Alexis Hockaday, husband Eric, (W. Gardiner), two great grandsons, Olli Ancona (Lisbon), Ronan Hockaday (W. Gardiner), great-grand daughter Mabel Hockaday (W. Gardiner), many nieces, nephews & cousins on both sides.

Vito was a member of the Lisbon Falls Baptist Church, a graduate of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, Institute of Applied Science, and the National Law Enforcement Institute among many other various courses and seminars. He also was a graduate of the Lighthouse Bible Institute. His careers of serving his country in the Air Force, and as a Law Enforcement Officer, were his total life's dream. He was a passionate patriot!

Very special thanks to his V.A. Care team (too numerous to mention) who actually felt like friends, as well as the CMMC care team who went the extra mile to do what they could. Special mention goes to Dr. Herman who truly cared for him & us until his home going. Sarah our sweet case manager & the memorable nurse who was with us at the end.

Very Special thanks to so many for their kind acts of sympathy & love. A private military "memorial" service will be held by his family. Committal will take place at Mt. Vernon (V.A.) cemetery in Augusta, Me.