AUBURN — Dick Kendall was known as a man who loved his work, loved his family and loved the community.

On Wednesday, a year after Kendall’s death, the community had a chance to give some of that love right back.

“Dick taught me to be a philanthropist,” said Bill Hiss, who succeeded Kendall as chairman of the the Maine Community Foundation’s Androscoggin County Committee. “Dick had a way of teaching us all without ever saying, ‘I’m going to teach you.’ It was always just, ‘Come and join me in this work.’ He was an absolute master of getting people to join him.”

At the Wednesday night gathering at Lost Valley, a few themes were repeated throughout the night: Kendall was always smiling. He was always patient and he was always clear about his devotion to the community.

“He loved Maine and he loved the Lewiston-Auburn area,” said Kendall’s daughter, Mary Brown. “He invested in his family, his home, his business and his community. He did believe in putting himself into it in order to make it a better place.”

Words were not all they had to give in tribute. There was also news to announce: The foundation is establishing the Dick Kendall Fund for Androscoggin County as a tribute to his longtime service.

“I can’t think of a better way to honor a man who gave so much of himself to this community,” said Chip Morrison, president of the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce.

Grants from the fund will benefit nonprofit organizations that follow his lead by building stronger communities and strengthening the fabric of our society, Morrison said.

The Bethel-based Betterment Fund has made a $25,000 matching grant to the Androscoggin County Committee.

For 15 years, the fund has been making small to moderate grants to charities across the county. Since 1999, it has awarded $238,205 to several organizations and has distributed nearly $346,000 in scholarships.

According to Hiss, Kendall had a knack for finding the charities that could most use a helping hand.

“He was kind and open-hearted,” Hiss said. “He had a very, very positive attitude toward other people and, in some cases, their businesses. Dick had an extraordinary vision for seeing what things could become.”

Although many in the local community considered Kendall a mentor, Brown said Kendall had no mentor of his own.

“He sculpted his own life,” his daughter said.

Raised in Augusta, Kendall graduated in 1941 from Cony High School. He married his high school sweetheart, Mary Briggs. They had eight children.

When Kendall began working for Bates Manufacturing, the growing family moved to Auburn. They settled at Brookside Farm, which remains the Kendall family home.

Kendall later worked as director of personnel for Union Mutual Life Insurance, then started his own business specializing in manufacturing and printing accounting forms. Maine Ventures, doing business as Veribest Systems, grew to 64 employees and a plant on Merrow Road.

Besides the county committee, he volunteered for a collection of organizations, boards and charities, including the chamber, United Way, Auburn-Lewiston YMCA and Central Maine SCORE. He also helped establish the Lewiston-Auburn Youth Court.

“Dick was a remarkable man who cared deeply about Androscoggin County and its people,” Hiss said.

If you would like to donate to the Dick Kendall Fund for Androscoggin County, please visit the Maine Community Foundation online at mainecf.org or contact Christine Wolff at [email protected].