NORWAY — Avis N. Greene, 94, of South Paris, died peacefully Monday, Aug. 15, surrounded by her loving family.

Avis was born in Lubec, Sept. 13, 1916, just missing her 95th birthday. Avis was the daughter of Russell L. Owen and Alice Bernice Crosby Owen. She went to schools in Lubec, before marrying Howard R. Greene Sr. on Feb. 5, 1936. They were married for 65 years, until Mr. Greene’s passing in 2001, with Avis at his side.

Her love for him was deep, profound and everlasting and together they raised six children, Howard Greene Jr., Maureen, Alice, Carol Ann, Sheldon and Donna. The family was well-known in the Farmington area, owning Greene’s Welding as well as the Clam Hut and an ice cream stand across from Hippach Field. Avis was the consummate matriarch of a family that is comprised of 21 grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren. She raised her own children with abiding love, spoiled her grandchildren and was the binding force of a sprawling family. She was also fond of her ‘adopted’ daughter, Trish McCaul.

Avis is probably best known in the Oxford Hills as a librarian. First she worked for public schools as an elementary school librarian, before she moved on to work at the South Paris Public Library. It was her affinity for reading and for education in general, that led her back to school in the mid 1980s when she finished her education and received a diploma from Oxford Hills. She was nearly 70 years old. Aside from work as a librarian, she was also a tax preparer for H & R Block in South Paris, as well as owning and operating a real estate business. Her hunger for knowledge made her a multi-faceted woman whose energy was limited only by the hours in a day.

Avis was a member of the Oxford Hills Church of Christ in South Paris and a life member of the Norway Grange. She learned to use computer technology with gusto, loved to garden, dug through numerous tomes of genealogy in search of her family’s ancestry and was fond of her various pets, which included dogs, cats and the occasional parrot. When living in Downeast Maine, she even had the pleasure of meeting First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Her greatest pleasure, however, was spending time with her children and their families who included Howard “Sonny” Greene Jr. and Janet of South Paris, Maureen and Peter Klopp of New Britain, Conn., Alice and Arthur Turner of Norway, Sheldon and Marsha Greene of South Paris, Carol Ann Wing of Dixfield, Buddy and Pat Wing of Canton and Donna Huntley of South Paris.

Avis was predeceased by her husband, Howard Sr.; her sons, Howard Jr. and Sheldon; and a daughter, Carol Ann.

The family wishes to thank the men and women at Norway Rehabilitation and Living Center and Stephens Memorial Hospital for the professionalism, skill and especially care they provided their mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother. “Nana to all.”

Online condolences may be shared with her family at www.chandlerfunerals.com.