Dr. Louis Gregory Bove

Louis Gregory Bove, M.D.

Scarborough- Dr. Louis Gregory Bove of Portland, Maine died peacefully on August 22, 2019. He was ninety-three.

Dr. Bove was born June 2, 1926, the youngest son of immigrant parents: Bernard A. Bove of Tursi, Italy and Mary Marcella Kelley of Napan, New Brunswick, Canada. Both experienced the hardships of their backgrounds but were proud of their heritage and passed that pride to their three children. The family settled in Portland, where Dr. Bove attended the Roosevelt School, Nathan Clifford School, and Lincoln Middle School.

In 1944, Dr. Bove graduated from Deering High School as a member of the National Honor Society. He was a dedicated student athlete, participating in Cross Country and Track. Following graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving fifteen months as an aviation cadet prior to the end of World War II. He then entered Bowdoin College, graduating in 1948 with honors and receiving the Sumner I. Kimball Prize for excellence in the natural sciences. He went on to Cornell University Medical College and graduated in 1952 as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. Later that year he married Dorothy Price.

He entered residency training in Internal Medicine at the Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT. His training there was interrupted by the “doctor’s draft” of the Korean War, and he entered the U.S. Air Force as a Flight Surgeon stationed at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. While there, he participated in exercises at the Nevada Proving Ground and witnessed the last above-ground detonation of an atomic bomb in the USA in 1955.

Following discharge in 1956, he finished residency training at Maine Medical Center. In 1958 he joined the Portland medical practice of Drs. Blaisdell, Herrick, and Storer. By chance, he was asked to care for one of Dr. Herrick’s patients with Hemophilia. At that time in Portland there were no physicians practicing Hematology, and those with the illness were sent to Boston for care. Not having any special training in Hematology, Dr. Bove attended post-graduate studies on the weekends at the New England Medical Center in Boston and later became the first Director of Hematology at Maine Medical Center, helping to found the Maine Hemophilia Treatment Centers for patients with bleeding disorders. By this time he had settled with his family in the Stroudwater neighborhood of Portland and following the death of his wife Dorothy, he married Patricia Baker in 1977.

Dr. Bove authored several articles on Hematology and blood coagulation, was a Fellow in the American College of Physicians, and became Governor of that organization for Maine from 1982 to 1986. He became the senior member of Internal Medical Associates, now InterMed, and received the Laureate Award from the American College of Physicians in 1992. Interested in teaching, he was appointed Associate Clinical Professor at Tufts University and the University of Vermont School of Medicine to work with residents at Maine Medical Center.

In 1997, Dr. Bove retired from medical practice but continued to work at Saint Matthew’s University College of Medicine and volunteer at the Portland Community Free Clinic. He was active in the Greater Portland community as a board member of the Stroudwater Village Association, Seventy-Five State Street, and Piper Shores. He was also active at Wayside Soup Kitchen and Saint Patrick’s Church in Portland where he was the MC of the annual Christmas Bazaar for many years. After the end of his second marriage in 2008, he became the life companion of Constance Johnley of Portland until his death.

Dr. Bove enjoyed the outdoors, spending many summers hiking in the mountains and exploring the beaches of Southern Maine. For many years he owned property at Higgins Beach in Scarborough, spending summers there with family. He was an avid skier and owned a chalet at the base of Mt. Abram near Bethel. Both Higgins Beach and Mt. Abram became places of great importance to him and his family. Throughout his life he was a collector of old postcards, Portland memorabilia, gems and minerals, driftwood, sea glass, beach stones, and glass insulators.

His family remembers his thoughtful generosity and warmth, his wit, and his tireless work ethic. A natural care-taker, he always had time for friends and strangers alike, making everyone feel equally important. He dismissed flashiness in preference of practicality and found beauty in the commonplace, whether a smooth piece of sea glass or a worn stone. He considered himself fortunate in life and loved his family deeply. We will miss his creative spontaneity, his sense of humor, his giddiness after a practical joke, and his laugh. Above all, we will miss him. He was wonderful to all of us.

He was predeceased by his parents, a brother Bernard and sister Patricia, his first wife Dorothy, a son Thomas, a stepson Wade, a granddaughter Ronni Marie, and his best friend of over eighty years, Theodore Logan.

He is survived by his life companion Constance Johnley of Portland, ME; former wife Patricia Bove of Fryeburg, ME; daughters Dr. Mary Louise Bove of Colebrook, NH and Ann Bove (spouse Richard Faesy) of Starksboro, VT; sons Gregory Bove (spouse Elba Sacris-Bove) of Newry, ME; Matthew Baker (spouse Cheryl Baker) of Stow, ME; Michael Bove (spouse Lauren Schaefer-Bove) of Portland, ME; Andrew Bove (spouse Katie Bove) of Portland, ME.

He is also survived by nine beloved grandchildren: Amelia, Will, Hannah, Mia, Casey, Louis, Chris, Cohen, and Ben; two great-grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, and their children.

Family and friends are invited to attend a time of visitation on September 26, 2019  from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. at A.T. Hutchins Funeral Home, 660 Brighton Ave Portland. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on September 27, 2019 at 10:00 am at Saint Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, 72 Federal St., Portland. Immediately following the mass, a celebration of life will take place downstairs in the Saint Peter’s Church Parish Hall.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Dr. Bove’s memory to Preble Street Resource Center, 38 Preble St., Portland, ME or Portland Community Free Clinic, 103 India St., Portland, ME.

Please visit www.athutchins.com to view Dr. Bove’s tribute page and to sign his online guestbook.

“Bye for now.”

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