1934 – 2016

AUGUSTA — Lloyd P. (Mike) Heldman, 81, of Litchfield, passed away peacefully on Monday, Sept. 5, at Togus Springs Hospice in Augusta.

He was born to Lloyd A. and Blanche Pomeroy Heldman in Newport, Vt. on Oct. 2, 1934, the second of five children. Mike attended schools in Cumberland, graduating from Greely Institute in 1952. Later, he attended Portland University and Emerson College in Boston. He then served in the U.S. Navy from 1955 to 1957.

Mike married his first wife, Alexandra McLean, and they raised four children together in the Auburn area. Mike was an enthusiastic supporter of his children’s activities and served the youth athletic community as a baseball umpire and coach, basketball referee and football official. He was also an avid volunteer of the Quarterback Club.

In 1983 Mike married Lorraine Bussiere and moved to Litchfield, where they raised her three children on Buker Pond. They loved canoeing in the summer and skating in the winter. They were known for their Christmas Eve route around Litchfield as Mr. and Mrs. Clause. This was a tradition that lasted many years.

Mike was a salesman for several companies including WCSH Channel 6, Robert Hall Clothing and the Sun Journal Newspaper in Lewiston before retiring from Maine Auto Radiator in 2000. In retirement, Mike joined the American Legion Post 181 and immersed himself in their activities, sometimes serving as chaplain for the color guard at committals. He was proud and grateful for the strong friendships made with the members.

He is survived by sisters, Patricia Monahan of Southington, Conn., Carol Flynn and husband, John, of South Portland; brother, Dan and wife, Carol, of West Chester, Pa.; sons, Richard (Sandy) and wife, Kris, of Hebron, Michael and wife, Michelle, of Collierville, Tenn.; daughters, Laurie Rechendorf and husband, Thomas, of New Harbor, Jennifer Gruenstrasse and husband, Steve, of Cos Cob, Conn.; stepdaughters, Debbie Trial and husband, Rick, of Los Cabos, Mexico, Suzanne Bussiere and husband, Roger, of Auburn; stepson, Gary Bussiere and wife, Cathy, of Concord, Calif.; grandchildren, Alex (Bump) Heldman of Hebron, Kate and husband, Alex Kaufmann, of Hebron, Benjamin Hasseman of Littleton, Colo., Ryan and Hunter Gruenstrasse of Cos Cob, Conn., Mather and Maddie Heldman of Collierville, Tenn.; step-grandson, Emile Bussiere of Concord, Calif; great-grandchildren, Ellie and Clara Kaufmann of Hebron; and several nieces and nephews.

Besides his parents, Mike was predeceased by an infant brother, Dickie, of Newport, Vt.; wife, Lorraine in 2007; stepdaughter, Diane Bussiere of Litchfield; and brother-in-law, John Monahan of Southington, Conn.