Lori Jeanne Hayden

Lori was born Feb. 19, 1964 at Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington, the daughter of James H. Pickett and Darla L. Gilbert Pickett.

She was raised in Skowhegan from the age of 4 and graduated from Skowhegan Area High School in 1982.

She was predeceased by her father, James H. Pickett, who died Aug. 6, 1968, when she was only 4-years-old. She lost her only son, Dustin L. Tuttle July 5, 2017; Dustin was the first great love of her life.

Over the last two years, she relished her role as grandmother, helping take care of the other great love of her life, Makenzie Jade Tuttle, Dustin’s 2 1/2-year-old daughter. Lori was a dedicated and adoring “Meme.” Every step she took in her life was to keep her Dustin and Makenzie happy, healthy and safe.

Lori was a very private young woman who could keep a secret better than anyone we knew. She was a multi-task worker who enjoyed a challenge; there wasn’t anything she didn’t dare to tackle. She was a team player who enjoyed working hard. To know Lori was to love her.

Lori was a dedicated employee at Camilla Acres and right-hand woman for the owner, her brother-in-law, Harvey Austin. Bookkeeper and receptionist, and anything else that needed to be done, Lori treated the business like it was her own, always ready to take on any task, whether it was scrubbing out an old house or digging weeds at the sites that were under contract to the business.

In fact, over the years, whenever Harvey or her sister, Trisha, needed a strong person, Lori was there. She even helped them start Fast Eddie’s Restaurant on North Avenue in Skowhegan many years ago.

Lori and her sister also were instrumental in helping start Central Maine Wreath with Ambrose McCarthy and worked for him at Pittsfield Redemption Center, as well as at North End and South End redemption.

Lori also worked for about eight years at Hammond Lumber as an expediter on billing, reception and as a cashier. She was a former receptionist at the Skowhegan Bureau of the Morning Sentinel, helping to format advertising copy; at New Balance Shoe for a brief time and as a telephone order representative for L. L. Bean in Waterville.

She loved camping, her backyard pool and, when she was younger, snowmobiling. Sun tanning was her middle name. She also had a great affinity for old Law & Order marathons; she said it helped her relax.

Lori is also predeceased by Grammy and Grampy Clifford and Althea Gilbert, who took care of her a lot after her own father died, and Grandfather Donald Pickett. Lori adored Grammy Gilbert and said that, even as an adult, she spoke to Grammy’s spirit every day.

Lori is survived by her granddaughter, Makenzie Jade Tuttle of Norridgewock; her mother, Darla Pickett of Skowhegan; her sister, Trisha, and husband Harvey Austin, Skowhegan; nephew, Kaleb L. Austin, Skowhegan; niece, Lexie Austin, Skowhegan; uncle Duane L. Gilbert and wife, Judith, Elizabethton, Tenn.; cousin, Kimberly Farr and husband, Dominic DePatsy, Falmouth and cousins Hayden and Mason Farr; cousin Duane Gilbert Jr. and his daughter, Logan Gilbert, of California and Boston respectively; Aunt Bonnie Stockdale, Worcester, Mass.; cousin Josh Stockdale of Boylston, Mass., cousin Angela Stockdale and her daughter, Annabella, Worcester, Mass.; and “Grammy Jean” Pickett Wilson of Wells. Also special to Lori was Ambrose G. McCarthy of Skowhegan, who helped raise her.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday August 5, 2017 at 11 a.m. at the Skowhegan Federated Church, Island Ave., Skowhegan, Maine with a burial to follow at the Southside Cemetery in Skowhegan, Maine.

A special thank you to Det. Christopher Crawford of the Maine State Police and to Ben Cayford for being so supportive and helpful during our terrible tragedy.

Arrangements were made by Smart & Edwards Funeral Home, 183 Madison Ave., Skowhegan, ME. 04976.

Please consider honoring Lori’s memory with a tax deductible donation to Family Violence Project. Contributions may be mailed to Family Violence Project, P.O. Box 304, Augusta, ME 04332; or, by visiting the website at www.familyviolenceproject