NORWAY – Lisa Elizabeth Whitley passed away at her ancestral home on the Harrison Road in Norway on Saturday, April 19, with her beloved partner Deb Higgins and family and friends by her side.

Lisa was born in Norway on Sept. 30, 1961, the daughter of Dennise (Dullea) and Robert L. Whitley. She was an honor graduate of Oxford Hills High School and received her nurses aide certification at the same time.

Lisa attended the University of Farmington and later graduated from Central Maine Community College with a degree in graphic arts. In high school, Lisa carried on the family tradition of being active in all of the high school theater productions, including acting and designing sets.

Lisa worked as a CNA at hospitals in Norway and Farmington and took great pride in her patient care. Lisa had many artistic talents, including decorating, painting, drawing and a particular talent for creating beautiful food.

Lisa conceived the idea for a café and art space on Maine Street in Norway. She opened and operated the original Trolley House Café for several years. She then took her cooking and chef skills to the Stoneridge Restaurant in Cornish. During the 1998 ice storm, Lisa led the efforts in that part of Maine to feed the power line workers for many days. Lisa then spent several years in California working as a private chef.

Following her return to Maine, she cooked at Mr. D’s in Windham and the Old Mill Tavern in Harrison. She found her cooking soul mate at Café DiCocco and she and Cathy cooked joyously together for the restaurant, market and bakery. They also catered wonderful weddings and events in Maine and New Hampshire. Her children, Sam and Bailey, worked beside their mother in many of the restaurant kitchens.

Lisa’s health necessitated her retirement from the food business and she turned her artistic talents to creating beautiful paintings for her family and friends. Lisa was an active member of the H.O.P.E group which her grandmother, Ruth Dullea, helped form many years prior. Lisa also did volunteer work for REACH.

Besides her devoted partner, Deb Higgins, Lisa is survived by her son, Samuel J. Whitley and his wife, Stacy, and grandchildren, Tessa Dullea Whitley and Brayden A. Swan of Hope; her daughter, Bailey R. Holloway, who graduates on May 10 from the University of New England; her mother, Dennise Whitley and husband, Barry Allen, of Norway; her brother, Mark D. Whitley and wife, Michele, and niece Brenna and nephew Connor of South Hampton, N.H.; her father, Robert Whitley of Livermore; uncles, Patrick G. Dullea and Michael Patterson of Portland; Deb’s family, Millicent Higgins of Manchester, and Wayne and Diane Niles of Sidney; and Lisa’s extended family, including many cousins; and many, many friends.

She was predeceased by her beloved grandparents, Ruth and Dennis Dullea, and Madlyn and Wilbur Whitley.