Harold L. Ingerson
1914 – 2009
FREEPORT — Harold L. Ingerson, 95, a longtime resident of Dennison Avenue, passed away at his home surrounded by his family and friends on his birthday, Aug. 16.
He was born in Randolph, N.H., on Aug. 16, 1914, a son of Vernice and Lucy (Gwynn) Ingerson, the second oldest of 14 children. He was raised in logging camps in the White Mountains throughout his childhood. He attended local schools until the age of 12 when he began working fulltime with his father, a logging contractor.
At an early age, he became an experienced horseman and was in charge of his father’s logging teams. The summer he turned 12, he and his father each drove a team of horses from Jefferson, N.H., to Standish, where they eventually began working for the Portland Water District using their teams to assist in hauling water pipe out of the canal from Sebago Lake.
At the age of 18, he became a heavy equipment operator and worked for Central Construction in Massachusetts building a road from Massachusetts to Rochester, N.H. While working in Rochester, he met his future wife, Dorothy Bellemeur. He and Dot were married on June 20, 1936 and welcomed their first child, Lorraine in 1937. Their second child, Lawrence, was born in 1938.
During World War II, he operated heavy equipment for the Army Corp of Engineers throughout Maine and Newfoundland. During this time, he purchased several pieces of heavy equipment and worked on the oil pipeline from Portland to Montreal.
Eventually with the help of his wife and son, he became self-employed and devoted his time in building his own logging business. The late 1950s started a transition in his business as he and his son began digging water and sewer lines for Freeport.
Although he continued logging, his main focus became bidding on large and small water and sewer jobs for towns and individuals around the state. In the ensuing years, Harold L. Ingerson Inc. equipment would be seen from Dover-Foxcroft to southern Maine replacing and installing pipelines with a large amount of work performed for the Lewiston and Portland water districts.
Whether he was working for a town or blasting ledge for an individual, he was known as a man of high integrity who would guarantee the job would be completed to the highest standard. Although he never officially retired, during the 1980s he did give up climbing into ditches to demonstrate a procedure to his crew. Around his 90th birthday, he got his first library card and finally had the time to devote to his love of reading books of the old west. He continued his weekly visits to the Freeport library until shortly before his passing.
He is survived by his daughter, Lorraine Hiles; a son, Lawrence Ingerson; five grandchildren, Debra Foss of Freeport, Lawrence Ingerson of Alabama, Laura Lelansky of Bar Harbor, Heidi Todd of Freeport and Mark Ingerson of Virginia; siblings, Virginia Williams of Gorham, Lois D’Andrea of Nevada, Richard Ingerson of Bethlehem, N.H., and Robert Ingerson of Lewiston; 13 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.
He was predeceased by his wife, Dorothy M. (Bellemeur) Ingerson on May 18; grandsons, Randy in 1987; Dennis in 1976; and most of his siblings.
The family wishes to extend a most grateful thank-you to their at-home caregivers, Mary Will, Judy Williams, Tim Foy, Boma Rathnell and Chris McNickles as well as the hospice care nurses from CHANS.

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