1939 – 2015

SOUTH PARIS — Eva “Polly” Yates Durant, 76, a resident of Otisfield for nearly 50 years, died Monday, Aug. 24, at the Market Square Heath Care Center in South Paris, surrounded by her loving family and friends.

She was born on June 16, 1939, in Lewiston, a daughter of Lawrence Gilbert and Grace Elizabeth (Skillings) Yates. She attended local schools, graduating from South Paris High School in 1957.

As a young woman, Polly worked in a nearby factory before pursuing a career in health care. She quickly became a certified nursing assistant and later, a med tech. She finally settled in as an activities director, first at Market Square Heath Care in South Paris and later at Casco Village Assisted Living.

She was a longtime member of the East Otisfield Free Baptist Church, past 4-H leader in Oxford County, and was involved with TOPS in South Paris and the Oxford-Otisfield Rescue Unit.

Polly is survived by her children, Deborah Dyer and her husband, Garry, Cynthia Arntsen and her husband, Peter, Thomas Waisanen, and Joseph Waisanen and his wife, Michelle; a sister, Hilda Taylor; brothers, David Yates and his wife, Carolyn, and Alvin Yates and his wife, Glennis; a brother-in-law, Harold Waisanen; 10 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

She was predeceased by her first husband, Michael Waisanen, in 1974, whom she married in 1957; her second husband, John Durant, in 1998, whom she married in 1990; her parents; and a sister, Beverly Andrews.

Words of condolence and tribute may be shared with Polly’s family at www.oxfordhillsfuneralservices.com.

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