CARRABASSETT VALLEY – Ruthie Fearon, 80, of Carrabassett Valley, died April 25, 2019, at the Androscoggin Hospice House in Auburn, after a long battle against cancer. The love of her life, Joe Lessard, and family members were with her at the end.Ruthie was born in Portland, one of nine siblings from the Fournier family. At an early age, her father abandoned them, and she and her brothers and sisters were separated. Ruthie was adopted by Wendell Downes and his first wife, and raised by Downes and his second wife, Carolyn. When she was about 6 years old, the family moved to New York, and Ruthie didn’t return to Portland until she was a teenager.Ruthie was married three times, and had five children with her first husband, William Grant, who predeceased her, as did her second husband, William Ward. Her most recent marriage was to the late Kinsey Fearon.In 1996, Ruthie met Joe at the Village Café in Portland and soon became a member of his darts team at the VFW post in South Portland. In 1997, they moved to Carrabassett and built their dream house, where they would sit on the balcony overlooking the river and sip cocktails expertly prepared by Ruthie. On a trip to Las Vegas, Joe bought her a queen of hearts necklace, because, he said, she would always be his queen of hearts. “They were Frick and Frack,” said Joe’s daughter, Mary Ellen Lessard. “There was constant loving banter, but they never argued. She was the love of his life.”Ruthie was a feisty, adventurous and loving person, well known in the Valley for her passion for everything from casino gambling to Shakespearean theater. She enjoyed fishing trips to Quebec, colorful fingernails, a succession of pet cats and baking her extremely potent rum cakes for friends. As a member of the notorious “Popcorn Posse” at Tufulio’s bar and restaurant, she played (and won) countless games of cribbage while sipping on countless Manhattans. When Tufulio’s closed each spring, she and Joe loved to host their own happy hours for friends at their home on the Carrabassett River. Her unassuming, humble demeanor belied a tough-as-nails personality, honed through years of tending bar everywhere from fancy Portland establishments to buckets of blood in Alaska. Those foolish enough to push her too far were met with a stern “Up your bucket!” One crossed Ruthie at one’s peril.Ruthie is survived by the love of her life, Joe Lessard of Carrabassett Valley; her brother Warren; she will be missed by her five children, Carolyn “Mickey” Grant of Arizona, Nancy Christensen of California, William “Bill” Grant of Arizona, Wendell Grant of Maine and Roberta “Bobbie” Huerta of Texas; as well as Joe’s daughters, Mary Ellen Lessard of Hampden, Leslie Lampert of Old Orchard Beach, Susan Lessard of South Portland and Rachel Pasquale of South Portland; 20 grandchildren’ 35 great-grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews; and countless friends. She was predeceased by her brothers, Ralph, Sheldon, Tony and Richard and her sisters, May, Mary and Winnie.A celebration of her life will be held in the near future. Arrangements are under the care and direction of Dan & Scott’s Cremation & Funeral Service, 488 Farmington Falls Rd., Farmington, ME 04938. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ruthie’s memory to the:Franklin County Animal Shelter 550 Industry Rd. Farmington, ME 04938

Copy the Story Link