BUCKFIELD – George R. Krohne, who had a special talent for helping people believe in themselves, died suddenly Tuesday, May 29, at his home in Buckfield. He was 59.

He had two careers, the first as a dedicated and talented newspaperman and the second as an equally dedicated advocate for those who needed help, from children with disabilities, to adults who needed encouragement to improve their lives through new skills or jobs. He was often stopped by his former adult students at area shopping malls and restaurants who were eager to tell him how they were doing and how important his faith in them had been.

As one of his students wrote a few years ago, “George has been like a father to us, protecting, yet encouraging us to grow.”

He was born in Springfield, Mass., on Halloween, 1947, to George R. Krohne Sr. and Christine Haskins Krohne. When he got his first newspaper job as a copy boy at the Springfield Union in 1967, he felt the newsroom was a place where he belonged. He became an excellent reporter and was proud to cover the Civil Rights movement in Springfield until he left the paper for the U.S. Coast Guard in 1970.

He was honorably discharged from the Coast Guard in 1974, and was awarded two letters of appreciation from Rear Admiral “Red” Wagner and a Presidential Commendation Medal from Richard M. Nixon.

At age 43, he attended Bates College, working full time as night state editor of the Portland Press Herald, while earning his bachelor’s degree in 1983 with a double major in sociology and U.S. history. He also worked as night sports editor at the Press Herald from 1977 to 1978, as an editor at the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) News from 1972 to 1977 and as a stringer for United Press International from 1967 to 1970.

After graduating from Bates, he decided to change careers. Instead of writing about the problems he saw people facing, he wanted to actively help them overcome their challenges. So over the past 25 recent years, he served as executive director of several non-profit organizations, including most recently Southern Maine Parent Awareness in York County and Hear Me Now at the Pineland Center, where he supervised the creation of one of Maine’s first pre-schools for children with hearing disabilities.

He also was associate executive director of the YWCA in Lewiston in 2001, and director of Adult and Community Education at Technology Region 9 in Rumford from 1992 to 1998. He served as the lead adult education teacher at SAD 52 in Turner from 1988 to 1992, and also taught writing at the Lewiston Adult Education Program, Central Maine Technical College and Mid-State College. He was as an adjunct instructor at Bates College Writing Workshop from 1984 to 1986.

Despite his demanding professional life, he always had time for his wife of 29 years, Roberta Scruggs and his sons, Daniel and Kurt Krohne, who considered him a great dad and a loyal friend. Many of the family’s happiest times were spent in the Maine outdoors. He was an avid bass fisherman and loved to paddle his canoe and kayak around Buckfield’s small ponds, especially with his wife and sons. He also was widely read, on subjects ranging from cooking to military strategy.

“He was the most fun, the most interesting and the kindest person I’ve ever known,” his wife said. “He really listened to what people said and he truly cared about how they felt. Because he believed in what they could accomplish, they began to believe in themselves.”

In addition to his wife and sons, he is survived by his mother, Christine Krohne of Springfield, Mass.; his sister and brother-in-law, Alyson and Tom Keane of Hawthorne, N.Y.; his sister-in-law, Kathy Scruggs of Columbiana, Ala.; his nephews, Raymond Keane and Reese Koehler; and his nieces, Kristen and Danielle Keane and Hannah Koehler.