Audrey I. (Witham) Tyler Obituary (1924 - 2016)

Winslow, Maine- Audrey I. (Witham) Tyler, passed peacefully into the arms of angels following a long battle with cardiac disease, on Thursday, August 4, 2016. She was the beloved wife of her true and only love, Ervin H. Tyler and they shared seventy five beautiful years together. Audrey was born on February 13, 1924 in Benton, Maine, to Elmer and Eliza (Shores) Witham, lived in Freedom, Maine, and has resided in Winslow, Maine since 2002. Audrey was a gentle, loving woman who always had a smile, and her twinkling brown eyes danced with excitement as she greeted everyone who touched her life! Audrey built her world around her precious family and was filled with pride at their many accomplishments. As a child Audrey loved to slide, play in the brook building rafts, going to the movies with her father and cooking with her Mother. She also enjoyed going to the coast with the family and going to local fairs. She loved sliding with her grandchildren and great - grandchildren, as well as playing basketball and cross country skiing, which she learned at age seventy!! In her later years, she enjoyed doing word search puzzles, playing beano, going for rides, meeting friends for breakfast at Trucker’s International and meeting her Mc Donald’s family of special friends every Wednesday night. Oh, how she looked forward to that. Everyone enjoyed belly laughs largely in part to the give and take comedy team of Audrey and Ervin. Nana, as she was affectionately called , enjoyed having her family around and will always be remembered for her home made baked beans, turkey and stuffing, chicken pies, berry pies, lemon pies, chocolate pies with real whipped cream of course!! Audrey was a member of the Benton Falls Congregational Church, was a member of the "Ladies Aide" and cooked and worked on church suppers for years. She truly loved and appreciated her Church Family. She was an avid Boston Red Sox fan and was so excited to see them win the World Series twice! She attended the University of Maine's Women's Basketball Games for years, even at age of 85! Audrey worked at the Winslow Poultry Plant for twenty nine years. She went there the day it opened and left the day it closed. She was a Union Representative and was well liked and respected. She worked at The Mid-Maine Medical Unit in the Housekeeping Department for eleven years and was loved by staff and patients alike. She was made an "Honorary Substance Abuse Counselor" in recognition of the distinguished service, loving care and listening ear she gave to patients. They couldn’t say enough about the positive influence she was in their lives. Audrey was identified on several occasions as being an outstanding employee who committed a great deal to Mid - Maine’s caring environment. She was cited five times for giving extra care and kindness. Everyone who knew her loved her because they realized how much she cared for them. Audrey took the initiative to do things on her own without being told , she was a very perceptive person , no wonder so many people looked up to her. One of her evaluators wrote,” she is very cooperative and understanding in all areas. She worked on detox, sixth hall. It isn’t an easy floor to work on, it takes a special understanding person to handle sixth hall and she is surely that type of person, a very polite, understanding and easy going person.” We have been truly blessed to have had her as our role model and we are thankful and proud to be members of the family she helped create. Her memory is the lantern that lights the way through the dark passages of our unknown lonely journey! Besides her husband of seventy five years, Ervin H. Tyler, she leaves one daughter, Bonnie R. Tyler; her cherished grandsons, Mark McCutcheon and his wife, Laurie, and Michael McCutcheon and his wife, Deanna; three great - grandchildren, Justin McCutcheon and his wife, Sara, Kristi Francey and her husband, Dana, and Ian McCutcheon; one great- great – grandchild, Madeline Francey; a son- in – law, Harold McCutcheon and his friend, Sharon Lamb. Audrey leaves a very special niece and her family, Pamela Wallace and her husband, Bob, Liza Wallace and Devon Wallace; her nephews, Lawrence Lee and his wife, Doreen, Dennis Witham and his wife, Laura; very good friends, Alice Alexander and family, Sheila Davis; her neighbors at Meadowview Estates; and her Winslow McDonalds Wednesday Night Group. Audrey was pre deceased by her parents, Elmer (Joe ) and Eliza Witham; her beloved daughter, Nancy Tyler McCutcheon; her sisters, Barbara Martin, Pauline Bessey; her brother, Irving Witham; her sister -in –law, Maxine Gurney and her husband, Edmond; as well as several nephews and nieces. The family would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Roland Knausenberger for his excellent care and kindness, his entire staff, Beacon Hospice, Melissa Ferris our wonderful Assistant, and caregiver, Sharon Gray. As well as RN Sarah Jandreau and Janine Stewart of Care Partner in Waterville, Maine. Visiting time will be from noon to 1 p.m. with a funeral service to begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday, August 7 at Lawry Brothers Funeral Home, 107 Main St., Fairfield, Maine. Burial will follow at Brown Cemetery in Benton. A celebration of Audrey’s life will be held after the burial at Benton Falls Congregational Church. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Benton Falls Congregational Church c/o Dawnella Sheehan, 274 Bellsqueeze Rd., Benton, ME 04901.