Gould spent most of his adulthood in Lisbon and later along the coast in Friendship.

PORTLAND (AP) – Author and longtime newspaper columnist John Gould, whose essays were laced with dry humor that reflected life in his adopted state of Maine, died Sunday at Maine Medical Center. He was 94.

Gould had been suffering from congestive heart failure and was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. “His little body couldn’t hold on any longer,” said his daughter, Kathryn MacLeod Christy of Standish.

For more than 60 years, Gould wrote a weekly column for the Christian Science Monitor. It was believed to be the longest-running column in the country.

His essays, many of them set in Maine, covered such diverse topics as the mystery of the three-tined fork, the origin of molasses cookies and the Battle of Gettysburg as told to him by one who was there.

“Writing a good essay isn’t that easy,” Gould said last year. “You can’t do it with a pointing stick. I try to make a point obliquely, adroitly, and whenever possible, with humor. It must always be a surprise. The surprise is what makes people laugh.”

His masterfully written columns were closely identified with the image of the Monitor, said Owen Thomas, Gould’s editor at the Monitor.

“He was incredible at making transitions in his stories. He’d start off in one direction, swing you around and throw you a curve and by the end of the essay you were back on your feet and facing forward,” he said.

Gould was the author of 30 books, including the best seller “Farmer Takes A Wife” and his most recent title, “Tales from Rhapsody Home, or What They Don’t Tell You About Retirement Living.”

The Boston-born son of a railway postal clerk and “the prettiest woman on Prince Edward Island,” Gould moved with his family to Freeport at age 10. After graduating from nearby Bowdoin College, he joined the staff of the Brunswick Record.

Gould spent most of his adulthood in Lisbon, where he presided at town meetings, and later along the coast in Friendship.

While writing was a constant throughout his life, he also was a newspaper publisher, radio commentator, lecturer and florist.

Gould said good writing required dedication to the English language.

“Pleasing language is what you should strive for,” he said. “You’re not much different than a carpenter. It’s a craft, and it takes care and precision. You can goof some jobs, but you can’t goof writing. And if you do, you can be sure that your readers will let you know!”

Gould remained active, engaged and prolific, well into his 90s, said Gould’s daughter.

“An incredible mind, an incredible memory, and so full of knowledge,” she said. “He could still quote his Greek from high school.”

Gould’s powers of recollection served him well, especially when retelling stories from his grandfather, who served in the Civil War. “He’s looking at America firsthand, secondhand from 150 years ago and he remembers it all,” Thomas said.

Among Gould’s recent honors was the state’s declaration of Aug. 17, 2002, as “John Gould Day.”

L.L. Bean established a library in its Freeport store and named it the John Gould room. Growing up in Freeport, Gould was a friend of the founder of the company whose name it bears.

Gould’s survivors include his wife of 70 years, Dorothy, of Freeport; their daughter, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. The Goulds’ older child, John Thomas Gould Jr., died last October.

A funeral service will be held Saturday at United Lodge No. 8 of the Order of Masons in Brunswick.

Copy the Story Link