Mary C. Duncan, 97, died peacefully July 26 in Boothbay. She was the wife of the late Roger F. Duncan.  

Mary was vibrant every day of her life and attended to the interests of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She had a lifelong interest in poetry and both read and wrote widely. She was published in a variety of books magazines and periodicals. Classically trained, her sense of language, rhythm and rhyme led her down poetic and intellectual paths that made her poetry appealing to children, her family, and a wider audience.

She held a B.A. degree in mathematics from Wellesley College and a master’s degree in tutoring reading and special needs from Boston University. For many years she was a tutor in Carlisle, Massachusetts and a volunteer in the Boothbay Harbor elementary schools. Her sensitivity and loyalty to her students was legendary. Her creative ways always put the struggling student at ease letting them develop their own reading and social skills in equally creative directions. Her faith in a child’s ability to overcome was boundless.

For many years she was the Religious Education Director at the first Parish Church of Concord, Massachusetts. She was a devoted and founding member of the Midcoast Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship.  Her strong social conscience led her to support local, national, and international organizations with both time and energy.

Mary sailed the New England coast with her husband Roger in their sloop Eastward.

She was an accomplished mate, could hand, reef and steer, and was admired and counted on by her husband to get the job done in foul weather or fair.

Mary is survived by her children, Robert and Lucinda Duncan of Concord Massachusetts, William and Lizbeth Duncan of Burke, Virginia, and John and Carol Duncan of Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as eight grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the U.N.I.C.E.F. children’s fund or to the Midcoast Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship of Damariscotta.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, August 5 at 4 p.m. at the Boothbay Harbor Congregational Church. 

You are invited to share your stories, memories, and photos with the family by visiting their Book of Memories page at www.hallfuneralhomes.com.

Arrangements are entrusted to Simmons Harrington and Hall Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 975 Wiscasset Rd., Boothbay.