Volunteer Voices: Pam Partridge: Education Crusader

I am originally from Metuchen, New Jersey. My dad had a hardware store which he ran with his brothers. I loved that community and I had a lot of friends. Initially, it was really hard to leave, but my dad bought a hardware store in Red Bank and so we all resettled near the Jersey Shore. The move was tough, but once I saw the ocean, it got easier! All the kids were learning to surf, and I enjoyed watching. I didn’t really participate, but it was fun to see them try to catch waves.

I first came to Maine to attend Unity College. I majored in Forestry. Unity is a small college and I loved the atmosphere. I was working at a local restaurant – Max’s – when I earned my associate degree. That is where I met my husband. He was the foreman on a construction job in town and he used to come in for lunch. He loved the chopped suey and a good hamburger! We used to talk when he came in and he eventually asked me out on a date. He took me to the Solon Hotel where they had a bar and you could hear live bands. We had a wonderful time.

His name was Linton Deane, but everyone just called him Deane. He had built a wonderful home upon on a hill. You could see Sugarloaf from it! We had a son, Daniel, who many years later built his own house on that very spot.

When Daniel was in elementary school, I went back to school myself to get a teaching degree from the University of Maine in Farmington. They had an excellent program for non-traditional students like me. I earned my teaching certificate in secondary education with a major in biology. My first year working after UMF was a mix of home tutoring adults and teaching adult education classes. I mostly helped adults who hadn’t finished high school prepare for their GED test. I loved that – home schooling for adults. It was very rewarding. I remember one student I had was a woman in her 70’s. She was nearly blind, but I helped her and she earned the her high school equivalency diploma through the Skowhegan Area High School! The next year I was hired to teach at the middle level, mostly science, in a local K-8 school.

I loved teaching and taught at several different levels for 25 years before retiring a few years early to spend time with my husband. Deane, meanwhile, kept up with his work trucking. I had been helping my stepmom as she aged because she had vascular dementia. I noticed Deane was acting differently and showing some of the same signs. He, too, was diagnosed with vascular dementia after I retired. It was the worst at night when he started “sundowning.” He wouldn’t go to bed and kept trying to get dressed to go to work. He even put on his hard hat and said, “I’m ready to go!” I used to let him more-or-less wear himself out so he would eventually go to sleep in our bed. Deane died on Thanksgiving Day in 2018 at home. I am grateful that I was able to have him home with me the whole time.

I have always been involved in volunteer activities since my teenage years. I think it is very important to be involved in community. After my marriage, I became a member of organizations such as North Anson Fireman’s Auxiliary, North Anson Community Church United Methodist Women, The Women’s Legislative Council (delegate), The Planetary Society (because I’m fascinated with space– I love watching rocket launches!), and the Maine Congress of Lakes Association as a Board member.

I also love volunteering as an AARP Maine Volunteer Advocate and member of the AARP Fraud Watch Network volunteer corps. I enjoy gardening and belong to a local gardening club. Of course, with my background in education, I serve as the web administrator of the Maine Education Association – Retired. The list goes on!

At home, I’m at peace. I sew and listen to music (if I could go anywhere I would find a way to get to Wembley Stadium in England to see The Cure!) and I love taking walks with my best bud, my 9-year old Beagle, Bandit.

As told to Jane Margesson, AARP Maine Communications Director.