Denise Skillings

Denise Skillings March 22, 1937 June 22, 2016 Denise Devine (Chaplin) Skillings died peacefully at Maine Medical Center, surrounded by family, at age 79. Denise was born in Gardner, Mass., to Harold and Louise (Devine) Chaplin. She graduated from Deering High School in Portland, Maine, in 1955. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1959 with a B.S. in education. Her teaching career included 25 years at Westbrook High School before retiring from public education in 1997. In her retirement, she worked at Stonewall Kitchen in the Old Port. Throughout her life, she volunteered in many areas, including teaching Sunday school and serving as president at Woodfords Congregational Church and most recently gave her time to the volunteer office at Maine Medical Center. Always full of energy, Denise was always engaged in homemaking skills and household activities, including baking, sewing, crocheting, scrapbooking, reading, and playing board games. One of her many joys and talents was in writing cards to family and friends for birthdays, holidays and other occasions, and she greatly enjoyed traveling with and visiting family. Her household was always open to friends old and new, often for extended stays, and there were many who called her ""mom."" Her positive spirit, feisty determination and boundless spirituality infused all encounters and relationships throughout her life, including the final years of increasing health challenges. She is survived by her husband of 59 years, Howard Skillings, of Portland; her sister Patricia Anderson of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and her brothers David Chaplin, of Sarasota, Fla., and William Chaplin, of Marco Island, Fla.; her children, Jonathan Skillings and his wife, Roberta Fusaro, of Marlborough, Mass., Linda Ohl and her husband, Michael, of Worcester, Mass., and Mark Skillings and his wife, Rebecca Vazquez Skillings, of Westerville, Ohio; and five grandchildren: Matthew and Anthony Skillings, Gabriela and Jallyssa Ohl, and Katherine Skillings. Her family wishes to thank the wonderful staffs at Maine Medical Center and Seaside Rehabilitation Center for all the care and attention given to Denise. A visiting hour will be held on Friday, August 19, 2016 from 10 to 11am followed by a memorial service at 11am at A.T. Hutchins Funeral and Cremation Services at 660 Brighton Ave. in Portland on August 19, 2016, followed by a celebration of life. A private interment will take place at Brooklawn Cemetery in Portland. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in her memory to the COPD Foundation (www.copdfoundation.org or mail to 3300 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Miami FL 33134). To offer condolences and share memories with the family, please visit www.athutchins.com. Paste and format obituary text here.

Denise Skillings

March 22, 1937 - June 22, 2016

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