Samuel Stoddard Jr.

SCARBOROUGH - Samuel Stoddard Jr., died at the age of 97, after a brief illness on Feb. 7, 2019, at Piper Shores, Scarborough. He died peacefully in the presence of his children. He was born on Sept. 7, 1921, in Lewiston, to Samuel Stoddard and Lilla Bates Stoddard, and was the second of their two children. He grew up on Wood Street in Lewiston. He graduated from Lewiston High School in 1939, and graduated (cum laude) from Bates College with majors in physics and mathematics in 1943. He was employed during World War II as an engineer engaged in strategic work at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, N.J., developing sonar technology for submarines from 1943-1946. He joined the faculty of Lafayette College of Easton, Penn., in 1946 and served as a professor of mathematics for 40 years. He earned a Master of Science degree in mathematics from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Penn., in 1952.

He married Jane Frye White of Auburn, a classmate at Bates College, on Oct. 16, 1943, in Auburn. The couple had been married for 72 years at the time of Jane's death in 2015. For many years the couple lived in Pennsylvania where both were employed in college teaching. Jane was chairman and professor of speech pathology and audiology at East Stroudsburg State University. The couple retired from teaching in 1986. They maintained strong ties to Maine throughout their lives, and upon retirement returned to live in Windham on Little Sebago Lake. They were a devoted couple, constant companions, and he missed her very much in his last few years. In 2008 they moved to the Piper Shores community in Scarborough, for the remainder of their lives.

Samuel was an active person with a wide range of interests. He enjoyed mountain climbing, backwoods camping and river trips with his family in Maine and Alaska. As an avid reader and bibliophile he was fond of scouring antiquarian bookshops to collect the works of his favorite authors and New England histories. He delighted in tinkering with and driving old Model T Fords. He enjoyed and collected well-made tools and employed them frequently during his restoration of an early Pennsylvania farm. He was a formidable competitor at the duplicate bridge table.

He is survived by his son, Samuel Stoddard III and his wife, Damaris, of Rochester, N.H.; Katherine Stoddard Pope of Falmouth, and William Franklin Stoddard and his wife Priscilla of Fairbanks, Alaska; seven grandchildren: Samuel Stoddard, Jacob Stoddard, Sarah Stoddard Dresen, W. Wade Stoddard, Lily Hamill, Julia Pope, and William Harte; and four great-grandchildren: Logan Stoddard, Rosalee Stoddard, Samuel Stoddard, and Henry Dresen.

Samuel was preceded in death by his wife, Jane White Stoddard; and his brother, Bateston F. Stoddard.

The family wishes to thank the staff of Piper Shores, Hospice of Southern Maine, and his dedicated team of caregivers for their very kind and excellent care during Samuel's last days.

A graveside memorial observance will occur in the spring. Visit www.thefortingrouplewiston.com to leave condolences.

For those wishing to make a memorial contribution,

the family suggests:

The Maine

Historical Society

489 Congress St.

Portland, ME 04101; or

Hospice of Southern Maine

180 US Route One

Scarborough, ME 04074