THREE MONTHS SHY OF CELEBRATING HER 100TH BIRTHDAY

In 1924, the inventions of the loudspeaker and spiral bound notebooks made the national headlines. Here in the Kennebunks, June 22, 1924 marked the birth of a remarkable and original woman: Ellen Spiller.  Early today, this wonderful lady, lying at home in her bedroom, surrounded by loving family and gently swaddled in her beloved UConn velour blanket, died. For me, a light has dimmed.

Over the past years, I played golf with Ellen at Webhannet Golf Club and enjoyed laughs and chats in her two-story home overlooking the Boothby Marsh at Kennebunk Beach. But she also loved basketball and never failed to remind me by text when the UConn Lady Huskies (HER team!) were on television. I even took her to see my granddaughter Maddie play basketball on her AAU travel team. 

To her very last week, Ellen’s mind and memory were razor sharp. She remained upbeat and caring, never losing her wry sense of humor. Several months ago when I was visiting, the furnace repairman arrived. As he took a hard look at the old rusty behemoth, Ellen asked, “How long will it last?” He said, “Oh, it’s still got some life in it.” “Perfect,” Ellen said, turning to me with a big smile and a wink. So did she!

Decades ago, Ellen graduated from Sargent College, a unit of Boston University, and then taught high school physical education in Rockville Center, Connecticut. A handsome and charming history teacher spotted Ellen in the halls one day and asked her out in early October. Marty Fagan and Ellen Spiller married a year later. In 1991, they moved back to her hometown of Kennebunk Beach.

Nobody gets to be three months shy of their 100th birthday unscathed, and this indomitable woman experienced her share of heartaches. When she was seven, Ellen’s mother died. Before passing, her mother said,  “You’re the oldest, so please always take care of your younger sister.” Ellen and sister Jean remained devoted friends their entire life.

Fourteen years ago Ellen lost her husband. She told me, “Marty and I used to have such fun playing golf at Myrtle Beach and here at Webhannet.” But the worst was when Ellen received a phone call in March 11 years ago from a police officer in Connecticut. He told Ellen that her son Marty had suffered a massive heart attack while out biking. “Something like that takes a lot of a mom,” she said.

Well into her 90s, Ellen rarely missed Lady’s Day at Webhannet. She loved remembering the day she shot 39 “some years ago.” More recently, on a balmy July Lady’s Day, I was playing in a 9-hole foursome with her and watched in admiration as this silver-haired lady drove the green from the senior tees (150 yards out) on Webhannet’s notoriously tough 9th hole — a challenging Par 3.  The two-time 9-hole Webhannet champion turned to me with an astonished look on her face and said, “I’ve never done that!”

Ellen Fagan’s inner sinew was always enhanced with a bright smile, a quick laugh, unquenchable curiosity, pure love for her grands and great-grands, plus wicked determination. She had a full knee replacement at age 96 and fretted until she could get back on the course. Occasionally I’d ask if she suffered from arthritis. “Oh yes,” she said, “but I just take a good hot shower every morning and that takes care of my pains.” 

I will miss you dearly, my friend. So will everyone who knew you.