BETHEL – Judith Esther Klain Haskell, 72, died suddenly Friday morning, Dec. 23, at her home on Paradise Street.

She was born in Portland on Aug. 31, 1933, the elder daughter of David A. and Adeline Decoster Klain of Norway. She attended the schools of Norway and graduated in the Class of 1950 from Norway High School. She attended the then-Jackson College of Tufts University for two years, later graduating from the University of Maine.

In 1952, she married her high school classmate, Colwyn F. Haskell. Following his graduation from the University of Maine in 1955, they moved to Rumford and then to Bethel, where they have lived since 1956.

After raising her children, she resumed her college studies and drove many long, late-night miles from Bethel to Portland, Gorham and Augusta to complete her degree requirements.

A distant family relationship with a one-time owner of the Moses Mason house in Bethel led her into many years of volunteer work with that part of the Bethel Historical Society’s activities. Her appreciation for really good food of widely varying tastes prompted her to become a much-appreciated cook by her fortunate family. The greatest pleasures of her elder years were her beloved grandchildren, and she was ever grateful for the opportunity to be an active part of their lives from birth to adulthood in the same town where she had grown up.

She is survived by her husband of 53 years; a son, James A. Haskell and wife, Jane, of South Paris; a daughter, Kathryn H. Davis and husband, Michael, of Norway; a special daughter, Jean M. Waite and husband, Gregory, of Bethel; three grandchildren, Alex, Nora and Owen Davis; and numerous cousins of both her Decoster and Klain extended families.

She was predeceased by her parents; and the aunts and uncles of that generation, including her special “Aunt Bess,” Elizabeth Klain.

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