Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home

NEW PORT RICHEY, FLA. — Geraldine N. McConchie, 93, passed away March 30, 2016, at The Villas of Sunset Bay, where she had been a resident since September 2015.

Born Aug. 1, 1922, in Unity, she was the daughter of Vance Gerald Norton and Phyllis (Estes) Norton. As a child, Gerry lived in Unity and Newport before moving to Rockland in the 1930s. She attended elementary schools in Rockland, and graduated from Rockland High School in 1941. She was an honor student and a member of the National Honor Society, as well as being a good athlete. She played varsity basketball for four years; during her sophomore year, Rockland played in the State Championship Tournament.

After graduation from high school, she entered Burdett College in Boston, majored in the executive secretarial course, and graduated in 1943. Shortly after graduation she volunteered and entered the Navy, where, as a WAVE, she served in the Intelligence Section, part of Naval Communications, in Washington, DC. She enlisted Aug. 13, 1943, and was discharged as a yeoman 1st class Feb. 9, 1946. After that, she worked as an accountant at Rackliff and Witham Lobster Co. for a year. On Feb. 12, 1947, she married her high school sweetheart, Irving H. “Mike” McConchie.

She is survived by Mike, her husband of 69 years. Also surviving is daughter Julie Forte (David) of Lakewood, Ohio, and two grandsons, James of Nashville, Tenn., and William of Cleveland. She was predeceased by a brother, Vance G. Norton Jr. (Klara). She was a loving aunt to many, and was called Auntie by her brother’s children and their families.

Gerry loved summering on Big Green Island, where Mike was a lobsterman. She was a homemaker, active in church Sunday school at the Rockland Congregational Church and in the PTA at her daughter’s schools. She enjoyed golf at the Rockland Country Club, where she was an occasional tournament winner, and around Maine on “State Days.” She maintained her membership in the Ladies Golf Association for years. She enjoyed skiing at the Camden Snow Bowl, having taken up the sport in her late 30s or early 40s. Her other summertime passion, besides golf, was attending musicals at the Maine State Music Theatre in Brunswick, where she had the same seat for 49 summer seasons. She treasured her friends on the golf course, her companions at the Summer Theatre, her monthly “Lunch Bunch” group, and her neighbors on Samoset Road, where she lived for 18 years before moving to Ginn Point in Owls Head in 1972. Beginning in 1986, Mike and Gerry became snowbirds, spending six months of every year at the Seven Springs Golf Club in New Port Richey, Fla., where she enjoyed golfing, swimming, maintaining old and starting new friendships. In the fall of 2011, she became a resident of Florida.

A small prayer service was held in Florida soon after she passed. A celebration of her life and reception will be held at 11:00am Saturday, July 30, 2016 at the Rockland Congregational Church, followed by interment at Oak Hill Cemetery in Camden. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Rockland Congregational Church, P.O. Box 554, Rockland, ME 04841. She will be remembered for her love of family and friends, her laughter and her delight in golf and Broadway musicals.