POLAND — Thirty seconds. The amount of time it takes to reheat a cup of coffee to his liking. Over the course of thousands of 30-second increments, Roger R. Simard lived a beautiful and meaningful life. Born in Auburn on May 17, 1935, the son of Albina Pelletier and Ronaldo Simard, and brother to Janine Reny, Lorraine Livingston and Roland Simard, Roger joins his late mother, father, brother Roland and son Kenny, who passed before him.

As a young boy, Roger was an altar boy at Sacred Heart Church and helped run the store attached to his childhood home. After graduating from Edward Little High School in 1954, he joined the U.S. Army and served until he was honorably discharged in 1956.

Summoned home from his station in Alaska because his mother was sick, Roger fell in love with the nurse who cared for his mom before she passed away in January 1956. Sixty years of marriage to his wife, Tonia Myrick Simard, raising their five children, Kenneth, Kellie (husband, Kurt Patti), Kevin (wife, Michele Hukill Simard), Kurt (wife, Lauren Crothers Simard) and Karen (husband, Matthew Morse), 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild, would fill his 30-second intervals for the rest of his life.

There was coaching Little League and senior league baseball, being part of the Auburn and Eastern Ski associations, helping to start the Lost Valley racing program and competitions, races and games to attend. There was the Central Maine Football Forecasters Association, and hours of picks to be made. There were cars that caught on fire, kids who needed stitches and grilled steaks that got away. There was always a Red Sox or Patriots game to be watched or listened to. There were games of horseshoes, family trips, boat rides and hundreds of bonfires. But most of all, there was laughter. There was always laughter.

Professionally, from 1956 to 1958, Roger worked various jobs at hotels in Belleair and Palm Beach, Fla., until ending up back in Maine, where he worked as the manager of the historic Poland Spring Hotel from 1958 to 1966. He then became the food services manager for the Poland Spring Job Corps Center, before landing the job he would have for more than 30 years at Central Maine Medical Center as the food services director. In the early years of the job at CMMC, he would leave his shift in the evening to go work at the horse racing tracks in Lewiston overnight, often getting little to no sleep in his effort to provide for his family.

Roger worked tirelessly to create a warm and welcoming “Camp” and, eventually, home on Middle Range Pond in Poland. This quickly became the place for his family and friends to come relax, celebrate and spend life’s most precious moments. Fond memories abound at “Camp” for everyone, including Roger’s doting grandchildren: Megan Patti (wife, Anna Willis Patti), Nicholas Patti (fiancee, Amanda Stewart), Danielle Simard and Hannah Simard (daughters of Andie Gregory Simard), Maddie Simard, Sidney Simard, Cameron Simard, Sophie Simard, Ella Morse, Boden Morse; and one great-grandchild, August Patti.

Roger was always a fan of taking a ride. Under the guise of sneaking off to the dump or to grab a paper and a coffee, his “rides” often turned to scouting for product for his projects and scheming on solutions to problems that his wife, kids or grandkids mentioned in passing. You never had to ask for his help. He had a way of knowing when you needed it and simply providing it.

Roger found out he had pancreatic cancer this past November and met all of the dynamics of this diagnosis with such grace. Over the last several months, Roger got his affairs in order, celebrated one last Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, birthday and, most significantly, 60 years of being with the love of his life. He made one last batch of maple syrup, hit his bets on one last Kentucky Derby, got one more coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts, read one more Sun Journal, ate one last hot dog from his favorite food truck in the Home Depot parking lot, sat in the sun on his porch one last time and listened to one last Red Sox game. Always chasing 30 more seconds to spend doing the little things he loved. This theme spanned his entire life: A devoted family man, he had a way of always showing up.

A proud man of few carefully selected words and endless wisdom, he was able to give the greatest gift of all in his final, most-vulnerable weeks, which was to allow the people who he had taken care of his whole life to take care of him. He methodically said his goodbyes in the morning on his final day and made sure each family member knew they were loved.

While there are endless examples to point to over his time on earth that serve to illustrate his love and care for his family, if all you had to go on was his exhausted body at the time of his passing, you would see that Roger gave to this world until he had nothing left to give.

Roger passed away at his home Memorial Day, May 28, 2018, at the age of 83, after a beautiful sunset over the glassy lake. Loons were singing and a bonfire was roaring outside of his bedroom window, where he was surrounded by love and affection.

His family finds comfort knowing that when the time came to let go, he was at peace with how he was leaving things. One of the final things he said was that it was “time to take a ride.” But first, 30 more seconds.

Roger R. Simard