DOROTHY LEVINE ALFOND
PALM BEACH, Fla. - Dorothy "Bibby" Alfond, died Dec. 31, 2005, in Waterville. She was the last surviving member of the distinguished Levine family, who first settled in Waterville at the end of the 19th century. Bibby Alfond was born April 16, 1916, in Waterville. She was the youngest of eight children, some of whom were parents themselves when she was born. She received her life-long nickname of "Bibby" as the "baby" of her family from her older brothers and sisters. A graduate of Coburn Classical Institute and Waterville public schools, she attended Colby College and graduated from Lesley College in Cambridge, Mass. On Aug. 5, 1943, she married Harold Alfond.

The couple first lived in Norridgewock, where she supported the launch of her husband's career as a leading shoe manufacturer. Thereafter, they moved back to Waterville where they resided until 1993. Mrs. Alfond was a pillar of the community, serving on multiple community boards, including the Maine Children's Home and the Holocaust Human Rights Center. Her children's schools and scores of schools and charitable institutions throughout the State of Maine were all beneficiaries of her personal charm, her wise counsel, her quiet, compassionate leadership and the Alfonds' financial generosity.

Maine institutions that bear her name in tribute include the Visitors Center and Middle School at Good Will-Hinckley; the Campus of the Maine Children's Home in Waterville; the Residence Center at Colby College; the Regional Cancer Center at MaineGeneral Medical Center and the Boys and Girls Club and YMCA at the Youth Recreation Center in Waterville.

Bibby Alfond was a devoted, loving mother. Her greatest joy was in raising her four children, in whom she imbued her sense of values and commitment to family and community. In more recent years, her love and nurturing extended to grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Together with her husband, she put down summer roots in Belgrade Lakes. For more than 50 years, she and her husband nurtured their children, grand-children, great-grandchildren, gardens and grounds at the family camp during their summers on Great Pond.

She leaves her cherished husband Harold; son, Ted and his wife, Barbara; her daughter, Susan; her son, Bill and his wife, Joan; her son, Peter; 13 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren, many nieces and nephews and her long time dear friend, Alice Emery. She is predeceased by her father, William Levine, the founder of Levine's Store for Men and Boys; her mother, Sarah, a respected and hardworking businesswoman; and her seven brothers and sisters, Ann Wolfe, Teddy Levine, Frieda Miller, Ludy Levine, Betty Kaplan, Pacy Levine and Evelyn Gold.

A public memorial service will be held 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2006, at Lorimer Chapel on the campus of Colby College, Waterville. A reception will follow at Page Commons on the Colby Campus. Burial was held privately for the family.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to The Holocaust Human Rights Center of Maine, P.O. Box 4645, Augusta, ME 04330, The Home for Little Wanders, 93 Silver St., Waterville, ME 04901 or to Colby College, Dorothy "Bibby" Alfond Memorial Fund, Waterville, ME 04901. Arrangements are under the direction of Redington Funeral Home, 5 Park St., Waterville.