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Leonard Kyle
FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — Leonard H. Kyle, 83, husband of Stella A. (Boxmaster) Kyle, died Tuesday, July 16, 2002, at a Presque Isle nursing facility.
He was born Dec. 25, 1918, at Fort Fairfield, the son of Sedgewick B. and Fannie E. (Cooper) Kyle.
He was a 1936 graduate of the Fort Fairfield High School and as a young man worked at his father’s market, Kyle and Spear, in Fort Fairfield. He later owned a market with Ted Gagnon in Presque Isle until joining the U.S. Army at the outbreak of World War II.
While in the army, Mr. Kyle served in the 3rd Armored Division which was the first armored division to land on Omaha Beach, France, during the Normandy invasion.
Mr. Kyle has since returned to France in the mid-1990s and also attended the commemoration services for the 50th anniversary of the Allied Liberation of Paris.
After his discharge from the armed forces, Mr. Kyle returned to Fort Fairfield where he was employed as a veterans councilor.
In April of 1946, he was appointed to the position of town manager of Fort Fairfield and remained in this position for 21 years.
He was married to Stella A. Bowmaster on Dec. 31, 1950. In 1969, the couple and their children moved to Bar Harbor where Mr. Kyle also filled the position of town manager until September of 1976 at which time he and his family moved to Presque Isle, where he intended to retire.
However, in December of 1976, he assumed the position of town manager of Mount Desert.
Mr. Kyle was quoted as saying, "I retired from September to December, those were awfully long months."
He was extremely proud to be a veteran and was a member of the VFW Paul Lockhart Post No. 6187, Fort Fairfield, the American Legion Walter Lovely Post No. 27, Fort Fairfield, and the Elks Club, Perth-Andover, New Brunswick, Canada, where he was a lifetime member.
In addition to his parents, Mr. Kyle was predeceased by two brothers, Floyd and Burpee Kyle.
He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Stella A. Kyle of Presque Isle; one son, Kenneth Knowlan and his wife, Kathy of Seattle, Wash.; two daughters, Kathe Kyle of Portland and Karla Kyle of South Berwick; one sister, Geraldine Neilson and her husband, Everald of Bangor; five grandchildren, Shannon, Kendra and Stephen Knowlan, all of Seattle, and Sare Giberson and Kate Grindel, both of Fort Fairfield; two great-grandchildren, Caleb Seeley and Abby Ladner, both of Fort Fairfield; several nieces and nephews.
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Friends may call Friday, July 19, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Dorsey Funeral Home, 144 Main St., Fort Fairfield. Funeral services will be conducted Friday, Aug. 2, at 1 p.m. at the Dorsey Funeral Home with the Rev. Mark Babin officiating. Interment will follow at the Riverside Cemetery, Fort Fairfield.
The Kyle family invites friends to join them in a time of fellowship and refreshments at the VFW Paul Lockhart Post No. 6187, Presque Isle Street, Fort Fairfield, immediately following the interment.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be given in memory of Mr. Kyle to the Alzheimer’s Association, Maine Chapter, 163 Lancaster St., Suite 160 B, Portland, ME 04101-2406.
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New Brunswick Families