1952 – 2013

FARMINGTON —    Lawrence Earl Yeaton, 82, of Farmington, passed away on Saturday, May 19, at Franklin Memorial Hospital.

He was born on Christmas day of 1930, a son of Norman and Verna (Mosher) Yeaton. He graduated from Farmington High School, where he excelled in football and was named to the All State Varsity Team. He was a veteran, having served in the United States Air Force, where he was stationed in Louisiana and Okinawa.  

On Aug. 16, 1952, he married Gaynelle Smith at the Henderson Memorial Baptist Church, Farmington, of which he was a member. Lawrence purchased an idle dairy farm on the Back Falls Road, where he also made his land available to others every season, picking fiddleheads in the spring, swimming in the summer, hunting in the fall and snowmobiling in
the winter. These hills and fields have been enjoyed by coaching staff and high school students at Mt. Blue High School who were training for track and
cross-country.

He devoted much time and energy to his beloved community in a variety of ways. He served on the Board of Assessment Review and was Chair of the Board of Appeals and was a former member of the budget and comprehensive plan committees. He was a 50-year member of the Farmington Grange and was a member of the following organizations: Franklin County 4H Dairy Club, Franklin County 4H Leaders Association, the Franklin County Agriculture Society, member of the Franklin County and Maine Farm Bureaus, (serving as
County President and State Director), Past President of the Maine Jersey Cattle Club, executive board member of the Western Maine Transportation Services, President of the Farmington Farmers Union since 1978 and a member of the Franklin County Friends of Retarded Citizens.

He enjoyed showing registered jerseys at fairs in Maine and other New England States and supported his children in exhibiting at County and State
shows; at the Eastern States Exposition and at the All-American Jersey Show in Kentucky.

In 1986, he received the Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District Award for outstanding accomplishments in conservation of soil and water and in 2007 he earned the Maine distinguished Dairy Cattle Breeders Award.  In 2000, the Town of Farmington town report was dedicated to him.

He is loved by his wife, Gaynelle; daughter, Darlene Nelson and her husband, Tom Nelson; son, Scott Yeaton; granddaughters, Michaela Yeaton and Shula Yeaton; daughter-in-law, Delana Yeaton Dellarma.  

He was predeceased by his son, Steven Yeaton; brothers, Horace, Stanton, John, Howard, Herbert, Leon and Walter Yeaton; and sister, Barbara Seamon.

Condolences and tributes may be shared with his family on his memorial wall at www.wilesrc.com.