Lawyer Bill Skelton lived a life of service and dedication – to the legal community and beyond.
By Carol Coultas
Business Writer

AUBURN – The city of Auburn was lucky to have the right man in the right place at the right time.

When William B. Skelton was elected Ward 1 city councilor in 1967, the city was just venturing into developing elderly housing and family housing. Skelton’s experience as a real estate lawyer was vital.

“It was great expertise to have on the board at the time,” said Bud Woodard, a former councilman who served as mayor during Skelton’s time on the council. “Bill was very thorough; he wanted to do things right.”

That professionalism marked a career dedicated to law and community service. Skelton, 74, whose grandfather in 1854 helped found the law firm that eventually became Skelton, Taintor & Abbott, passed away Saturday, but friends and associates said his contributions are enduring.

“We were reviewing plans for low-income housing, and had authorization for 100 units,” said Woodard. “But Bill talked us out of it, and I’m glad he did. It would have been too much.”

Instead, 50 units of affordable housing went into the Towne House on Lake Auburn Avenue. Eventually the city created more housing at the Esplanade, Roak Block and Barker Arms Mills, a more manageable concentration, said Woodard.

Neighbors tapped that same wealth of experience when in the late 1950s they decided they’d like to build tennis courts in West Auburn. The Skelton family joined with eight others to purchase property and build the courts, but with Bill involved, everything had to be done by the books.

“He kept us out of trouble with respect to the deed” and other legal matters, said Ralph Gould, a friend of more than 50 years and one of the founding families of the tennis courts. “He made us set up the West Auburn Tennis Association and establish bylaws. … He was a real legal beagle.”

Gould, who is a former trustee and director of Central Maine Medical Center, also worked with his friend on the hospital board, where Skelton served from 1966 to 1988.

“He made a terrific contribution to that board,” said Gould. “He was an extremely knowledgeable attorney in the field of real estate. One of the real experts.”

Attorney Charlie Abbott worked with Skelton for 40 years and considered him a friend and a “wonderful man.”

“He was the perfect partner,” said Abbott, “in the sense that we had absolute confidence in his work. He was truly dedicated to his various clients.”

Although committed to his work, Skelton’s greatest passion was his family. He was married for 45 years to his wife, Claire. They have six children and 10 grandchildren.

“They were first and foremost,” said Abbott. “He was a tremendous man.”

Skelton had developed such an expertise in real estate law and title research that he could recall the permutations of certain properties within the county from memory. That familiarity made him extremely adept at real estate transactions.

He retired in 1991 after 37 years of practicing law. In retirement, he spent a lot of time sailing with his family between Maine and the Bahamas. He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) a year ago.

But he refused to let the diagnosis squelch his zest for life.

“First he found out everything he could about the disease,” said Gould, who saw Skelton regularly at the CMMC fitness center. “He said, ‘I’m not going to let this spoil my life.'”

To that end, Skelton and his wife took a cross-country trip to the West Coast, stopping to visit family and friends all along the way.

“It was a trip to celebrate life,” said Gould, who confessed he found his friend’s trip so inspiring that he is now in the process of planning a trip to San Antonio.

“He was just a tremendous man. A great family man. A terrific lawyer,” said Gould. “You know, it’s nice to be able to bow out when you know you’ve made a contribution. And Bill Skelton surely did.”

ccoultas@sunjournal.com