SOUTH PARIS – Richard J. Denison, 84, of 9 Oak Ave., Norway, a longtime local banker, died Thursday, Sept. 20, at the Maine Veterans’ Home, where he had been a resident since suffering a stroke in January.

He was born in Norway March 5, 1923, the son of Laurence and Helen (Jordan) Denison. He attended schools in Norway and Harrison, and he was a 1942 graduate of Bridgton Academy.

As a child in Norway, he befriended the artist Vivian Akers and the naturalist George R. Howe, and while working summers at the Stonecourt summer resort in Harrison, he posed as a model for illustrations by the painter Robert O. Reid, a regular visitor there, appearing in nationally distributed calendars as a sailor and a Marine.

After studying for one year at the University of Maine, he enlisted in the Navy, serving during World War II as a storekeeper first class in the North Africa and China theaters. In 1946, he returned to the University of Maine and graduated with a degree in business administration in 1949.

He returned to Norway and began a career of almost 40 years as a local banker. He was assistant cashier and cashier at Norway National Bank, remaining with the bank first when it merged with Canal National Bank and later when Canal merged with Key Bank. At retirement, he was vice president and trust officer for Key Bank.

During his banking career, his customers included not only hundreds of area residents, but also the Olympic athlete Wilma Rudolph, the singer Buffy Sainte-Marie and the author Martin Dibner.

During his first years at Norway National Bank, he developed an interest in municipal affairs and was elected as a Norway selectman. He also spent many years as a trustee of Norway Memorial Library and was frequently asked to serve as moderator of the annual town meeting.

He was a longtime trustee and treasurer of Norway’s Higgins-Crooker Charity Fund, which assists Norway residents of limited means. He also served many years as a trustee of Bridgton Academy. In addition, he was actively involved in the establishment of Stephens Memorial Hospital.

During the 1950s he was a member of the Pennesseewassee Players theater group.

He was a longtime member of Oxford Lodge of Masons in Norway and rose to the rank of district deputy grand master, one of the highest positions in statewide Freemasonry. He was a founding member and former president of the Norway Historical Society, and was a frequent speaker to the society and other groups on various facets of his home town’s history.

He married Lillian Sawyer of Fort Fairfield on April 5, 1953. Two years later, they bought a house on Oak Avenue, which has been the family home for 54 years. They enjoyed working together in their garden and finding and collecting old bottles, spending many hours exploring old dumps and probing Pennesseewassee Stream for interesting bottles. He also was a fan of classic automobiles and looked forward to his annual visits to local antique-car shows. In August, he was treated to a personal tour of the Lions Club car show at the Oxford County Fairgrounds.

Mrs. Denison and their children, Richard Jr. and his wife, Adriana, of Leon, Mexico, Susan of Fairfax, Va., and Thomas and his wife, Nellie, of Greenwood, survive; also sister and brother-in-law, Jean and Richard Higgins of South Paris; sister, Carolyn Johnson of Center Barnstead, N.H.; and a grandson, Benjamin of Auburn.