Obituary of Winnifred O. Gomm

Winnifred Orma (Gray) Gomm

November 5, 1929 - April 12, 2024

Winnifred Orma (Gray) Gomm passed away peacefully on April 12, 2024, at Northern Light Blue Hill. As with all of us, things don’t always go as planned and this was true for Winnie at the beginning of her life. Born to Ormand and Jeannette Gray on November 5,1929, her birth was scheduled to take place at Blue Hill Memorial Hospital. But a fire at the hospital two days before forced her parents to look for a different location. She was born in a house with a midwife in Penobscot.

She grew up in a house at the Four Corners in Orland and then the family, including her sister Lucille moved to intown Bucksport where she attended school. Growing up during the Great Depression and World War II, she became wise in the ways of doing and making things for herself and being fiscally responsible.

The 1950’s arrived, and she became a modern housewife. She and her first husband moved to Blue Hill where her sister had also moved to and got married. Her second husband Donald and her were married in 1957 and in 1958 she had her only child, a son, Steven Ginn. Her marriage lasted 11 years and that is when Winnie came into her own. While being a single mom in the late 60’s and early 70’s was not unusual, society took a different view. She and her son lived in a modest house in East Orland. She got odd jobs waitressing at Anderson’s Restaurant in East Orland, tagging fish at the East Orland fish hatchery, and became a VISTA volunteer working at H.O.M.E. in Orland at its founding, later managing the Bar Harbor and Ellsworth stores. After the stint at VISTA expired, she went to work at the Regal textile woolen mill in Ellsworth. She worked the midnight to 8:00 a.m. shift so she could sleep in the morning and spend the afternoon and evening with her son. After the mill closed, she again went to waitressing, went back to school to get her GED in 1976, studied to become a nurse, became proficient in doing upholstery, sewing and even being a customer service representative at McDonald’s. She continued to work all the way up to 2006 with sewing, and even digging clams and raking blueberries.

Also, in the 2000’s, she and her son were on the radio every Friday morning on WERU-FM with the “Steve and Ma” show. She enjoyed being on the air and giving the weather, bantering with people and talking with the Reverend Rob McCall each week as well as giving out her cooking recipies. Also, in the 2000’s, she would become a regular at music benefits and the yearly Brooksville’s Got Talent doing comedy routines and dressing up as Dolly Parton. People all around would see her at the store and either call her Ma or Dolly and she always appreciated it.  While she had cars that were basic transportation, she saved enough money to go to the Ford dealership in Ellsworth in 1972 to buy a new car. She had a Mustang in mind, but immediately changed her mind when the salesman told her she couldn’t afford it. She went down to Morrison Chevrolet and drove a brand-new baby blue Camaro off the lot and went back to the Ford dealership and told the salesman that she had no problem down on Water Street. Winnie never accepted “no” for an answer and would set out to prove that she could do it.  In 1972, she packed up, sold the house in East Orland and moved in with her mother in South Blue Hill. A year after that, she again took money she had saved and went to Augusta to buy a brand-new mobile home to put on a lot beside her mother’s house. She continued to live in South Blue Hill even after her mother passed away in 1997. She lived with her last husband there until 2010. Then she went to River View Apartment Complex in Sedgwick to live the rest of her life.

It is there that Winnie came to live with full gusto for the rest of her life. She had her driver’s license until 2023 and maintained her independence until the last days of her life. Winnie didn’t have to worry anymore about being responsible for others. The final 14 years of her life, she was involved in so many things that she wanted to do.  She would go out to eat or to ride and would attend many community events. She made special friends at the apartment complex. She would also go up to the Food Pantry in Blue Hill each week to visit and take some goodies up to the volunteers. She attended the South Blue Hill Baptist Church and the most special thing she liked to do was go to the Hymn Sing at the Rockbound Chapel in Brooklin where her favorite hymn was “In The Garden”. Whatever the occasion or holiday, she was always dressed in matching outfits and homemade clothes or accessories. She leaves behind her son Steven and his wife Lynn of Sedgwick. She also leaves behind many friends who supported her including Stella and Karen at the apartments. Her friend Tink who called her nightly. Her friend June who was always ready to lend a hand. Her friend Paul who lived around the corner and would often bring her his macaroni and cheese. Her friends at the pantry, church and the chapel.

Services will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in Winnie’s memory may be made to: South Blue Hill Baptist Church, P.O. Box 613, Blue Hill, ME 04614 or to: Rockbound Chapel, 742 Reach Road, Brooklin, ME 04616.