Rosita Ella (Hiscock) Hartley

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Rosita Ella (Hiscock) Hartley, 77, formerly of Turner and Peaks Island, Maine, passed away Wednesday, October 28, 2020, at home in Port St. Lucie, Florida, following lingering health issues.

Zeta, as she was known to most people, was born June 18, 1943, in Lewiston, Maine, the daughter of Asa Carl Hiscock and Gladys (Quimby) Hiscock. Rosita was a 1961 graduate of Leavitt Institute in Turner, and worked as a Lab Technician at CMG (now CMMC). Her early professional years were an exciting time in Zeta’s life; she enjoyed her job and made lifetime friends with many staff. She married Larry Hartley, who came into the marriage with two children: Deborah and Thomas; Rosita had Darren in 1965.

In 1970 along came youngest sibling Mitschka John and the brood was complete. An excellent cook, house cleaner and driver, Rosita’s role as a mother and homemaker kept her busy and fulfilled. She organized and managed the daily routines of her bustling family: music lessons, play dates, sports practices, scout meetings, and other activities for four kids, including countless Little League games around the Andy Valley region. Times were not always easy in those days, but she and her family enjoyed many memorable outings with close friends and cousins; camping up north and in Cundy’s Harbor. Christmas was Rosita’s favorite holiday, for which she always enjoyed decorating and making special foods to share. When her youngest went to school, she worked as a cook in the school cafeteria and then, after her 1980 divorce, at Reny’s Department Store in Livermore Falls.

Rosita enjoyed art, completing impressive Artex paintings in the 1970s and 80s, socializing with her friends at Mary Richardson’s ceramics studio, and – in her later years – was a devotee of coloring books. Throughout her life, Zeta loved few things more than spending time with her several close friends, around a kitchen table, a cribbage or Scrabble board, playing Yahtzee, at “the Singles” dances, at the Chuck Wagon, as a member of the Red Hat Society, or other social venues. She was a loving and devoted daughter, mother, grandmother, sister, and companion. She cherished her family and friends, and enjoyed baking for others. She liked to travel, and visited New Orleans with her sons, and Nashville, San Francisco, and Hawaii with her long-time companion, G. Clark Smith. She and Clark relocated to Port St. Lucie, Florida in 2012.

She is survived by Clark and his family; her children, Deborah Hollingshead and husband Richard of Harpswell, Darren Hartley and wife Lena-Jo of Poland, Tommy Hartley of Durham, and Mitschka “Mitch” Hartley and wife Gabrielle of Florence, Massachusetts; sister, Juanita Henson of Stuart, Florida; brothers, Carlton Hiscock and wife Sandra of North Turner, Leroy Hiscock and companion Meredith Bigg of Turner; nine grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. She was predeceased by her parents in 1987 and 2011. Messages of condolence may be sent to: http://www.finleyfuneralhome.com

An informal remembrance will take place on Saturday, November 7, from 4-6 p.m., at FINLEY FUNERAL HOME, 15 Church Street, Livermore Falls, Maine. A formal funeral service and reception will be announced at a later date, it is being planned for after COVID, probably in June 2021.