Harold Franklin Hutchinson, Jr., 82, of Waldoboro passed away on March 14, 2017 at the St. Andrews Gregory Wing. Harold was born on April 3, 1934 in Brockton, Massachusetts, the only child of Harold F. Hutchinson, Sr. and Marion (Houle) Hutchinson. His parents moved to a large riverfront tract of land near Exeter, NH when he was nine years old where he became very independent and learned to entertain himself in the great outdoors.

After graduation his dream to be a Navy pilot was dashed by poor eyesight, but instead he served on several submarines as a member of the Underwater Demolition Team, the precursor to the Navy Seals. He performed reconnaissance missions as a hardhat diver during the Korean War. His transition to civilian work involved security of classified information. He then worked for 36 years with the phone company, generally independently in Special Services which included security data circuits with banks, lottery machines, wire-tapping and communications on Air Force One. President Gerald Ford, while visiting Portsmouth, NH tripped over some wires and landed on top of him, caught on live television.

In 1967 Harold secured his pilot’s license and then set out to realize his childhood dream of building his own airplane in 1978. It took five years to build his award winning Aerobatic Christen Eagle II.

In 1986 he met the love of his life through the Experimental Aircraft Association. He proposed to her at 5,280 feet. He inverted the airplane then pressed the speaker button for all on that frequency to hear and popped the question. He said he couldn’t afford a sky writer! They began their life in Kittery where they built a log home.

In 1990 Harold took an early retirement to enjoy his many hobbies, such as creating English gardens, building stonewalls, and making Shaker furniture in his workshop. They enjoyed taking the camper to Baxter State Park for family time each summer. In 2000 he relocated to Waldoboro and became an active member at the Water of Life Lutheran Church and sang in the choir. Harold also loved the other three girls in his life, Abby, Laika and Bonnie.

He was predeceased by his parents, Harold F. and Marion (Houle) Hutchinson, Sr.

Harold is survived by his loving wife of 31 years, Irene (Fellows) Hutchinson of Waldoboro, his daughter Lisa Manglona and husband Richard of Georgia; son-in-law Adam Harrower of Burlington, MA, 2 granddaughters, Grace and Emily Manglona of Georgia, and great grandson Nicholas Harrower of Burlington, MA.

A memorial service will be held at the Water of Life Lutheran Church on Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 1 p.m. with Pastors Carolyn Neighoff and Jonathan Vogel presiding.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Harold’s name to the Lincoln County Animal Shelter, P.O. Box 7, Edgecomb, ME 04556.

Hall’s of Waldoboro has care of the arrangements. To extend online condolences, please visit www.hallfuneralhomes.com.