Edna Mae Harris

A sweet and gentle lady, a loving wife, mother, and grandmother, Edna was born “in the parlor” at the family home at 17 Merrill St. in Portland on September 2, 1913 to Forrest L. Storer and Ida M. Davis Storer. She always said she had a happy childhood and had many happy memories of friends on Munjoy Hill. She attended Shaylor and Emerson schools and graduated from Portland High School in 1929 at the age of 15.

She went to the St. Lawrence Congregational Church where her Sunday School class was the “Clancy Class” which eventually became the “Clancy Club”, a group of girlfriends, closer than sisters, which met regularly for the rest of their lives .

After graduating from high school Edna took a course to operate a comptometer (an early key-driven mechanical calculator) and got her first job with A&P for $15 a week - which she worried that she wasn’t worth. Her fingers would fly working that machine. She later worked for Mobil Oil Corporation where she met her first husband.

She was married to Lee Emery Doten on May 15, 1943 at the St. Lawrence Congregational Church. They bought a home in Gorham where they welcomed beloved daughters Barbara and Christine. The family moved to West Auburn, and after the girls were in school Edna returned to work, first in the offices of Beckerman Shoe Co. then Belgrade Shoe Co. Wherever she worked she was always a valued employee. When the family moved back to Portland, Edna worked as a bookkeeper and doing cost accounting for Cushman Baking Co. and then Casco Bank before going to work for her son-in-law, Steve McDuffie, at Pine State Elevator Co. She retired from that company in 1982, having worked, with the exception of the six years when her girls were young, ever since she was 15 years old.

In 1967 Edna and Lee bought a home on Highland Ave. in Scarborough. After Lee died in 1978 she reconnected with her childhood friend Ray Harris, and they were married in May of 1981, hoping to have a “few good years together” which turned into 24 happy years. They enjoyed their home in Scarborough and retirement travels. In 1994 they moved back to their beloved Munjoy Hill into a condominium at Promenade East. Wherever she lived Edna made a charming home. Ray died in 2005. Recently Edna has lived at Seventy Five State Street where she received kind and attentive care for which her family is very grateful.

Edna is predeceased by her parents, her sister Clara Storer and her brother Norman Storer. She is survived by her daughters Barbara Maynard and Christine and her husband, Steve McDuffie. She treasured, and was treasured by, her grandchildren and great grandchildren to whom she was their loving “Mimi”.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, January 9th, at the Jones, Rich and Hutchins Funeral Home, 199 Woodfords St., in Portland. She will be buried in the Spring.

In lieu of flowers, contributions could be made in her memory to Seventy Five State Street, 75 State St., Portland, ME 04101.