CARRABASSETT VALLEY – Mary Jane Clements, 68, of Carrabassett Valley, passed away at her home on Sunday, Sept. 26, following a 12-month illness.

She was born on Sept. 20, 1936, in Orange, N.J., and was raised in Ebensburg, Pa.

Following graduation from high school, she studied under the Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pa. and in 1957 became a licensed Registered Nurse.

After working for a year in Palm Beach, Fla., she was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy on Dec. 22, 1958. Her subsequent tours of duty included Naval Hospitals at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Michigan, at the Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines, at the Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan and at the Portsmouth Naval Ship Yard, Kittery.

She rose to the rank of full Lieutenant, U.S. Navy Nurse Corps. She met her husband while he was stationed at the Marine Barracks, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and was married on Nov. 14, 1964. She was released from active duty in February of 1965, expecting her first child.

In 1980, she accepted a position as a Nurse on the staff of the Attending Physician of the United States Capital, Washington, D.C. For 14 years she attended to the health needs of the congressional members and that included Senator George Mitchell of Maine. She retired in 1994. For a total of 20 years, she served her Country with honor and distinction.

She loved Maine. She vacationed in Maine through the years, evenutally bought property and made it her retirement haven. With her husband, she became a full-time resident of Carrabassett Valley in 1995.

She was a proud member of the Red Hat Society of Carrabassett Valley. A kind person, she was sensitive, thoughtful, gracious and considerate to everyone with whom she came in contact. She was also a devoted wife and mother of three daughters and one grandchild.

Mary is survived by her husband of 40 years, Lieutenant Colonel John Edward Clements, (retired) U.S. Marine Corps; and her daughters, Jacqueline Marie Clark, of Alexandria, Va., Beverly Ann Hahn, of Springfield, Va., and Mary Sharon Clements, a nursing student at the University of Southern Maine.

She was the heart and soul of this family. Her loss is enormous. She will always be loved.