Harriet Rae Davis

SOUTH CHINA — A light has gone out of our lives; wife, mother, grandmother and friend to many, Harriet Rae Davis has left us on Jan. 31, 2014, at Mount St. Joseph Nursing Home, surrounded by her loving family after a long courageous fight.

She entered into the world facing many medical challenges. She was born March 27, 1943, the daughter of Emile and Amelia Pelletier in Waterville, Maine.

Her early childhood days were filled with love and support from family and friends. She attended Pine Tree Camp for handicapped children, which gave her inspiration to help children with disabilities. In high school, she volunteered and worked with special needs children. She also enjoyed taking dancing lessons and performed in numerous dance recitals.

Upon graduating from Waterville high school, she entered the University of Maine at Machias, where she majored in education. The years at Machias resulted in her receiving a diploma from the college president at the local hospital while recovering from an operation. In 1965, she entered her first year of teaching at Glenburn Elementary School. The following year, she met and married her soul mate, David Davis, and they moved to Unity, where they both taught for over twenty years in MSAD #3. Her sons were born during these years, and she enjoyed the many sporting events that they participated in.

She also enjoyed her camp at Lower Wilson Pond and the family became avid skiers at Squaw Mountain. Those were some of her happiest days, skiing with family and friends.

During the 90s, she began to deal with health problems and took early retirement. In 2003, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, another medical challenge that she fought with remarkable courage.

The years that followed, she remained very active, enjoying her grandsons, hosting family gatherings, and attending local fairs and events at Sunday River. She also volunteered at the South China Library and became an avid button collector.

She became very active in Friends in Need (FIN), a breast cancer support group based in Australia. FIN gave her much support during her last years. Her high school classmates Hannah and Sandra were also a very important part of her final years.

Harriet never let her health issues define who she was as a person. She relied on her religious faith to get her through any obstacles she faced in life; love and family were instilled in her at an early age and continued to be her first priority.

She is survived by her loving husband of 47 years, David Davis; sons: Sean and his wife Holly of Tex., and Chad of N.H.; two grandsons: Colby of Tex. and Griffin of N.H.; three sisters: Joan O'Neil of Fla., Blanche Pelletier of Waterville, and Phyllis Gravel and her husband John of Benton; two nieces: Debbie Delany of Calif., and Robin McCluske of Fla.; a nephew, Eric Gravel of Bath, and numerous cousins.

She was predeceased by her parents; her sister Juliette; and her brother Donald Pelletier.

The family thanks her primary care physician of over twenty years, David Preston, and his nurse Debbie, her pulmonologists Kristin Holms and Stephen Metta, and her ENT Christopher Murry.

A special thanks to Mount St. Joseph Nursing Home for their excellent care, and the Hannaford Pharmacy in South China for outstanding service.

A time of visitation with the family will be held Friday, Feb. 7, 2014, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Gallant Funeral Home, 10 Elm Street, Waterville. A mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014, at Sacred Heart Church, 70 Pleasant Street, Waterville. A luncheon will follow in the church hall downstairs, immediately after the Mass. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Lafayette Family Cancer Center, 33 Whiting Hill Road, Brewer, ME 04412.