FREEPORT – Miriam J. Force, 85, of New Gloucester, died Monday, May 5, at Hawthorne House.

She was born in Montclair, N.J., July 22, 1922, a daughter of Lauriston F. and Janet Conklin Carter. She graduated from Thayer Academy in Braintree, Mass.

She married James L. Force in Holbrook, Mass., Aug. 11, 1946. He died Oct. 31, 1993.

She had been employed as a school secretary and later as a secretary at Knapp Shoe from 1966 to 1973.

She lived in Holbrook most of her life, until moving to New Gloucester in 1973.

She was a former member of the Winthrop Congregational Church in Holbrook and was a member of the First Congregational Christian Church in New Gloucester, where she enjoyed singing and was secretary and a member of the Women’s Guild.

She is survived by a son, James E. Force and his wife, Jane, of Topsham; a daughter, Christine Force of East Lansing, Mich.; four grandchildren; and seven nieces and nephews.