Obituary of LaVerne A. Vayo

LaVerne Ames Vayo passed away on July 7, 2015, at Mid Coast Senior Health Center. She was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1932, the daughter of Wendell G. and Lucile M. (Grover) Ames. She started school in Harpswell in a one- room school with eight grades taught by one teacher, later attending schools in Brunswick, Medford and Cambridge, Massachusetts, and graduating from Stoneham High School. She worked several years in the Office of Superintendent of Schools in Stoneham, three years as a telephone operator and supervisor in Reading, a bookkeeper and receptionist at the Shirreff Oil Company in Wakefield, Massachusetts. She married William M. Vayo on Aug. 9, 1958. He predeceased her on Dec. 20, 1979. She and her husband moved permanently to Harpswell, Maine, in 1971. She was appointed deputy town clerk in Harpswell in 1988 and was elected as town clerk in 1991, retiring on Aug. 31, 1997. In 2006, Laverne moved to Willow Grove in Brunswick. A stepson, Robert Vayo, predeceased her in 1995. She was also predeceased by two stepbrothers, Earle and Rudolph Toothaker. She is survived by two sisters, Marguerite (Peggy) Curtis of Brunswick and Leah B. Hinckley of Cumberland Center, a brother, Olcott Toothaker and his wife Linda of Great Island and one stepbrother, Fred Toothaker, also of Great Island. She is also survived by one stepson, Richard Vayo of Wilmington, MA and several cherished nieces and nephews. At her request, there will be no visiting hours or funeral. Graveyard services will be held later at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Harpswell Neck Fire and Rescue or Coastal Humane Society.