Ethan Hayes Babb

In Portland, on Sunday, February 6, Ethan Hayes Babb lost his hard-fought battle with depression and addiction. Many people who knew him might be shocked to know that he lived with these diseases every day of his adult life. They saw simply a beautiful soul, instantly trusted and inevitably adored. He had long been getting treatment and help, and it was just one part of him that he carried; it did not define him. Instead, he is defined by the millions of parts that made him an unforgettable human being who was universally loved. Ethan was born on August 9, 1977, in Eastern Maine Medical Center, and grew up in Searsport making art with his Mom, building lobster traps with his Dad, and exploring the brook behind his house, his favorite place on earth. After graduating from Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon, he worked as a chef at the Oregon Zoo's award-winning Event Center. But he soon came home to the Maine Portland, where he cooked many more meals, brewed countless barrels of beer, and was an essential worker during a global pandemic. Ethan lived a simple life but he wasn't simplistic; he was uncomplicated yet complex-a snarky punk-rock curmudgeon on the outside and a sweet, sensitive softy on the inside. Thoughtful and considerate, always anticipating others' needs, Ethan was giving and caring in the most unassuming and selfless way. He was raised in a house filled with cats and a white German shepherd, and there wasn't an animal he didn't love. He was a brilliant culinary artist, and an insufferable music snob who loved vinyl records and comic books, and disdained all things mainstream-except video games. He was a bottomless vault of random knowledge, and could say in six acerbic words more than most people say in 600...and always said it better. He was the funniest person everyone knew. In December of 2010, two strangers in a crowd immediately bonded over their mutual hatred of unimportant things, and Ethan met the person he was always meant to find. On paper they were complete opposites; in reality, the perfect match. He cooked chicken wings and French fries for Lora every Friday night, and every Saturday they walked them off throughout their favorite parts of Portland-the proms, the beaches, the city streets, their neighborhood. In their 11-plus years together, they loved and accepted each other wholly, laughed often, ate well, spoke their own private language, and helped each other become the best versions of themselves. They were the couple others aspired to be; they were each other's everything. Ethan leaves behind his parents, James and Linda Babb of Searsport, his mother-in-law Susie Winslow, Aunt Holly Montone, Uncle Walter Babb, siblings-in-law Jennifer and Maxwell Foell, and Tyler and Adam Bedwell, and countless other relatives, friends, and loved ones. And, of course, his very favorite person, the love of his life and wife, Lora Elizabeth Babb. In the fall, Ethan's favorite season, his friends and family will gather in Searsport for a celebration of his life. Meanwhile, please consider a donation to your favorite animal shelter or to a mental health/addiction organization in his memory...and be kind to others, as he always was.

Ethan Hayes Babb

August 9, 1977 - February 6, 2022

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