Naomi Truth Lary

WEST PARIS – Naomi Truth Lary, 81, of West Paris, returned to God while surrounded by her family on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, at the Market Square Health Care Center in South Paris, where she had been a resident since 2018.

Naomi was born on Nov. 20, 1944, in West Paris, a daughter of Ralph Ellingwood Abbott and Elizabeth “Truth” Abbott. She attended local schools and graduated from Buckfield High School. She went on to attend the University of Maine at Orono, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in education.

She married Merwin Lary on Oct. 17, 1970, in West Paris.

Naomi taught kindergarten through twelfth grade at many different locations, including for five years in the early 1980s in Florida. Most recently, she taught in the Greene school system. She was a member of the Retired Teachers Association.

She was an animal lover and a bird watcher. She enjoyed gardening, and especially loved flowers. Roses were her favorite. She was tremendously creative, a talented artist particularly skilled in charcoal drawing and writing. She was a voracious reader, with a special fondness for history and poetry.

Naomi had very strong faith and was involved in the church, both in Florida and Maine. She was a member and Deacon of the Mission Congregational Church of West Paris.

Her greatest pleasure in life, however, was time spent with her family, especially her grandchildren.

She is survived by three daughters, Lynda Kennedy and her husband Wayne of West Paris, Laurel Angevine and her husband Tim of West Paris, and Wendy Lary and her significant other Carroll David Harris of Woodstock; two stepchildren, Mark Lary and his wife Maureen of Kissimmee, Fla., and Christine Berry and her husband Scott of Cape Coral, Fla.; a brother, Rodney Abbott and his wife Lois of West Paris; 14 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

She was predeceased by her husband, Merwin, in 1994; and her brother, Kevin Gibbs, in 2023.

A memorial service celebrating Naomi’s life will be held at the Mission Congregational Church in West Paris on Jan. 30, at 1 p.m.

Arrangements are in the care of Cliff Gray Cremation and Funeral Services. Spring interment will be at the North Paris Cemetery. Condolences and tributes may be shared with her family and friends at http://www.cliffgraycremations.com.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in her memory to:

Arthur L. Mann Library

P.O. Box 307

West Paris, ME 04289