OTISFIELD – John David Hankins, 69, died Thursday, March 10.

He was the son of Prof. John E. and Nellie (Pottle) Hankins, and was born in Lawrence, Kan., Oct. 1, 1935. He attended schools in Lawrence. Following high school, he spent one year studying at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He graduated from Tufts University in 1958, and that year married Jean Fittz, also a Tufts graduate. He received a Ph.D. in English from Indiana University in 1962.

He taught English literature for 30 years at the University of Connecticut, retiring in 1992. He was assistant department chairman. A year after retiring, he and his wife moved to Otisfield; his mothers family home for several generations.

He had many hobbies and interests, perhaps the most unusual of which was beekeeping. He was also a master gardener. He sang in many local groups, including Hills Alive Chorale and the Hillsmen barbershop group.

He was always involved in the outdoors, particularly cross-country skiing and canoeing. With friends and family members over the years, he made several trips to remote parts of Canada, canoeing whitewater rivers such as the Churchill, the South Nahanni, and the Coppermine. At one time he was also involved in whitewater canoe racing. He and his wife also backpacked over the Colorado Trail and on Baffin Island.

He was dedicated to community service. During his 30 years in Mansfield Center, Conn., he was chairman of the Mansfield Conservation Commission and served as president of Joshuas Tract Conservation Trust. He was a member of St. Pauls Episcopal Church, Willimantic, where he served as senior warden.

During his retirement years in Maine, he has served as one of the Otisfield directors to SAD 17. He was also a director and past president of Thompson Lake Environmental Association, past president of Bell Hill Meeting House Association and much involved in efforts to repair that churches belfry and dome. He was president of the Otisfield Historical Society, secretary of the Oxford Hills Rotary Club, and a member and treasurer of the East Otisfield Free Baptist Church.

He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Jean, of Otisfield; one brother, Thomas L. Hankins of Seattle; a sister, Margaret van Mourik of Pully, Switzerland; a son, John B. Hankins of Mansfield Center, Conn.; a daughter, Janet Gastil of Lemon Grove, Calif.; a daughter, Susan Fritzell of Ames, Iowa; seven grandchildren; and many cousins and friends.

He was predeceased by a daughter, Sarah in 1979.