AUBURN – Albert E. Hodsdon Jr., 96, a longtime resident of Rumford, died early Sunday, Dec. 2, at the Hospice House.

He was born in North Yarmouth, on July 11, 1911. His father, Albert Hodsdon, a contractor and lifetime resident of North Yarmouth and his mother, Susan Bowley Kimball of Macwahoc, who was a school teacher and teacher of the year, had a family of five boys.

He attended and graduated from North Yarmouth Academy and later earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Northeastern University in Boston. Upon returning to Maine, he worked for York Power and Light. During World War II, then Captain Hodsdon, served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps at Fort Meade, S.D., and Fort Snelling, Minn., After the war, he and his family returned to South Portland.

In 1950, he recognized the growth and opportunity occurring in Rumford, where he established himself as a competent and well-known building contractor. During his business years, he constructed many commercial buildings in Rumford and the Oxford County area: Rumford Town Garage, Goodwin’s Restaurant and more. While living in Rumford, he served on numerous municipal and civic organizations: school board, Town Finance Committee, Sewerage Committee, Andy Valley Growth Committee, Rotary, Cosmos and more.

He was an avid reader of history, enjoyed visiting old forts and touring Maine highways. He had all the knowledge and familiarity with Maine roads to be the state highway commissioner. Upon retirement in 1978, he and his wife, Marjorie Crawford Hodsdon, remained in the area through 2005, when the couple moved to Auburn.

He is survived by his wife, Marjorie, who presently resides at Schooner Estates in Auburn; and his three children, Mary Hodsdon Riek of Granby, Conn., Margaret Hodsdon Ladd and husband, Rick, of Haverhill, N.H., and Albert Edward Hodsdon III and wife, Jill, of Fairfield; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.