Obituary of Ralph H. Dunton

Ralph Hartley Dunton, 95, of Porter and Scarborough, passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 11th, with his family by his side. Ralph was born in Bath, ME, the son of Ralph and Luella Dunton. The family moved to Portland, where Ralph attended Portland schools and graduated from Deering High School in 1938. He went on to New Hampton School where he was a standout soccer player. After completing his schooling, Ralph joined the Navy and was stationed in San Diego serving as a Seabee. Ralph loved to hunt and fish. He kept a diary titled “Hunting and Fishing” where he recorded the stories of his outdoor adventures. These diary entries are a treasure for his family today. They cherish stories like when he and Earl went ice fishing on Sebago Lake. After walking out onto the lake, Ralph asked Earl to check the ice with the chisel. Earl brought the chisel down onto the ice and it instantly went right through the thin ice, the ice they were standing on. They shuffled back closer to shore, found thicker ice and proceeded to enjoy another day doing what they loved. As a member of the Penguin Ski Club, Ralph met the love of his life and wife of 58 years, Eugenie Woodward from South Portland. They enjoyed numerous ski trips to the White Mountains and loved riding horses at Plantation Stables and Walnut Crest farms. Ralph worked at Files stables and one of his jobs was to ride and lead the horses from Gorham to a summer camp on Orr's Island. Ralph and Genie were married in July of 1949 in South Portland. They moved to the Pleasant Hill neighborhood in Scarborough in 1952 where Ralph became active in many civic organizations. He served as president of the Lions Club, volunteered as a Little League coach, Board of Appeals member, and member of Engine 8 Rescue Squad, the first organized rescue squad in the state. Ralph worked for the phone company, starting out as a lineman and retiring in 1988 as a Right of Way Agent. When Genie and Ralph retired they wintered in Citra, FL, and summered at the camp in Porter. The camp became the family gathering spot for the annual 4th of July celebration and Fryeburg Fair weekend. Ralph was predeceased by his wife Genie and is survived by his daughter Patricia and husband Blaine; his son Timothy and wife Donna; his five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Patricia and Timothy cherish the many memories of childhood such as skiing behind the VW bus on Colcord Pond, exploring the back roads, watching the bears at the Rangeley dump, surf clamming and getting the VW bus stuck on the beach with the tide rising, and the annual trip to Boston for back-to-school shopping and of course Ralph’s favorite – Red Sox games. In October of 1986, Ralph was at his son’s, watching game six of the World Series. After the game, Ralph stood up and said that he would never see the Red Sox win a title in his lifetime. Fortunately he lived to see his beloved Sox win three titles.