FARMINGTON – Gladys E. Conant, 97, of Canton Point Road, Canton, died Thursday morning, May 26, at Franklin Memorial Hospital, Farmington, where she had been a patient for just over a week.

A lifelong resident of Canton, she was born Sept. 26, 1907, in Canton, the daughter of Wallace and Effie (Morrison) Conant. She was a 1924 graduate of Canton High School and on April 20, 1932, she married John Carleton Conant in West Paris. Together, they loved and raised their family on the Conant family farm in Canton. He died on Sept. 19, 1970.

She was the oldest leader of the oldest club in the country, the 4-H Club. She was a 68-year member of the Canton Busy Workers 4-H Club and served as its leader for many years. In 2002, she was inducted in the 4-H Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C., where an engraved brick was placed with her name at the National 4-H Center. She was also a member of the Pine Tree 4-H Federation, receiving the Distinguished Service Award in 1999 and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. She was named the outstanding 4-H leader at the Oxford County Fair and the Fryeburg Fair, and was honored by the naming of the Gladys Conant 4-H Exhibit Hall at the Oxford County Fair Grounds.

She was a 74-year member of the Farm Credit of Maine and received its Distinguished Service Award. She was former state president, county president, current county treasurer and Canton chapter president of the Cooperative Women of Extension Group. For many years, she served as the chair of the Extension’s advisory board. In 1959, she was named Cooperative Extension Outstanding Homemaker of the Year and in 1983, earned the distinction of Cooperative Extension Outstanding Citizen.

She was a member of the Oxford County Soil and Water Conservation District and in 1973 was awarded the Oxford County Soil and Water Conservation District, Outstanding Conservationist Farmer Award; 20 years later she was awarded the Maine Dairy Shire, Dairy Industry Leader Award.

Her love for her community led to a variety of activities, including serving on the Canton school department and MSAD 21 school board for 49 years, some of which were in the capacity as chair or vice-chair. For her commitment to education, the Gladys Conant/Dr. Carroll Howes Student/Community Center was co-named, partly in her honor.

She was a member of the Canton Town Republican Committee and served as a polling booth clerk for the town of Canton. She was currently the recording secretary/treasurer for the Canton Point Ladies Circle.

Her passion was music. She was a gifted piano teacher and served as the organist for the Bradbury Memorial Church.

She is survived by her children, Clinton Conant and his wife, Jeannette Cobb Conant, of Canton and their two children, Kathy Alexander and her husband, Ronald, of Auburn, and Kelly Ross and her husband, David, of Portsmouth, R.I., Olive Conant Dubord and her three daughters, Laurie Deane and her husband, Ronald, of Jay, JoEllen Couture and her husband, Jay, of Jay, Rachel Ouellette and her husband, James of Jay, Norris Conant and his wife, Jacqueline Cox Conant, of Canton and their three sons, John Conant and his wife, Jennifer, of Canton, Anthony Conant and his companion, Belissa Corriveau, of Canton, Andrew Conant and his companion, Amanda Lucas, of Canton, Ralph Conant and his wife, Beverly Richardson Conant, of Turner and their two children, Rick and his wife, Monica, of Winthrop, and Rhonda Senger and her husband, Peter, of Yarmouth, Duane Conant and his wife, Betty Meserve Conant, of Canton and their two children, Deborah Keene and her husband, Steven, of Canton, and Dennis Conant and his wife, Heidi, of Canton, Ann Conant Allen and her husband, Gene Allen, of Jay and their three children, Gene Allen Jr., and his wife, Debbie, of Jay, Lisa Jackson and her husband, Robert, of Carthage and Peggy Crosby and her husband, Ronald, of Portland, George Conant and his wife, Patricia Sheedy Conant, of Scarborough and their two children, Jeffrey Conant and his companion, Trisha Nadeau, of Scarborough and Amanda Conant and her companion, Peter Signori, of Tucson, Ariz.; a daughter-in-law, Joanne McAllister Conant of Old Orchard Beach and her four children, Barry Conant and his wife, Ada Rae, of Rio Rancho, N.M., Anita Covey and her husband, Marlon, of Sterling, Mass., Cheryl Trenoweth and her husband, Rusty, and Teresa Bennett and her husband, Brenton, all of Yarmouth; 31 great-grandchildren; one niece, Lola Sayer and her husband, Ralph, of Canton; and two first cousins, Keith Morrison and Jane Bubar.

She was predeceased by two children, Clifford Conant and Lucille Conant; a sister, Clara Keene; and a son-in-law, Eugene “Gene” Dubord.

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