My mother, Wilda Ruth Brown Dunham, is searching for her two older half-brothers Richard Barker and Raymond Barker. Here is all the information she could give me. The brothers’ mother is Frances Malloy Barker Brown and their father is either Richard or Raymond Barker (she cannot remember exactly) and the father was born in Nashua, N.H. and was a minister.

The brothers had a baby sister named Elsie who passed away in 1941 at the age of 21 years old. As well as my mother, Wilda, the brothers also had half-sisters Frances and Kathleen. The last Wilda knew, one of them lived in New York. The brothers, Richard and Raymond, would be in their early to mid 90s today.

Wilda is hoping someone out there will have some information on these young men and would be willing to share it with her. She has recently lost her youngest brother and hopes to find Richard and/or Raymond Barker. If you are either brother or a family member who would be willing to help my mom find her brothers, please email me at cblier1@roadrunner.com and I will forward the information to her. Wilda will be 82 years old this summer and this is her desire. Thank you to everyone who can and are willing to help. — Charlotte Blier via email.

ANSWER:

Online resources include:

Maine Genealogy Net http://www.mainegenealogy.net/

Access Genealogy http://www.accessgenealogy.com/maine-genealogy/

LinkedIn has 13 entries listed as genealogists in the Lewiston-Auburn area.

Lewiston Public Library http://lplonline.org/

Maine Franco Genealogy Libraryhttp://www.simplesite.com/MFGSWebsite/137296473

Auburn Public Library genealogy sectionhttp://www.auburn.lib.me.us/Reference/genealogy.html

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice is looking for volunteers to visit hospice patients under our care in local nursing facilities. We are also looking for greeters to answer phones at our Hospice House in Auburn.

Nursing facilities: AHCH provides care to hospice patients in their own homes, nursing facilities and at the Hospice House in Auburn. We are always looking for new volunteers to cover all areas we serve, but we currently have a great need for those patients we see in the nursing facilities. Many patients in facilities, facing the end-of-life, are alone and in need of companionship.

Volunteer visits could include bringing a patient to an activity, holding a patient’s hand when they are afraid and lonely, spending time with a patient who can no longer speak, sitting outside with a patient on a beautiful day, doing special activities for patients with Alzheimer’s, watching TV together or just sitting and talking. We continue to have needs in the home as well. Volunteers in the home setting often visit for a couple of hours once a week to provide respite to a family member and companionship to the patient.

A 20-hour Hospice training has been scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays starting June 2 at 8:30 a.m. in our Lewiston office at 15 Strawberry Avenue. Call for more details and the full schedule.

Hospice House greeters: If you are looking for a way to be involved, but not comfortable with visiting patients, consider volunteering as a greeter at the Hospice House. Greeters are responsible for answering the phones, answering questions from visitors and greeting new people coming in. Volunteers typically cover once a week for four hours. We have scheduled two, four-hour training sessions for people to choose from. The first will be 1-5 p.m. May 18, and the second will be 1-5 p.m. June 10.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please call Kathy Baillargeon, volunteer supervisor at 207-795-9586 or email her at kathy.baillargeon@ahch.org.

Visit ahch.org for more information about the Hospice House.

Use the QR code to go to Sun Spots online for additional information and links. This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com, tweeted @SJ_SunSpots or posted on the Sun Spots facebook page at facebook.com/SunJournalSunSpots. This column can also be read online at sunjournal.com/sunspots. We’ve joined Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/sj_sunspots.

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