Allyn Richard Fenn

LAKEVILLE — Allyn Richard Fenn passed away peacefully in Bridgton, Maine, on Feb. 24, 2012, one day after the celebration of his 81st birthday.Born to Beatrice and Merril Fenn on Feb. 23, 1931, in Hartford Conn., he spent his growing-up years in Lakeville, where fishing and hunting with his brothers, Walt and Bubby, were favorite pastimes. Al pitched for his school baseball team and spent his summers swimming and diving off the raft tower at the Lakeville Grove.At 17, Al rode his bicycle to the recruiting station in Torrington, where he enlisted in the Air Force. He spent the next four years learning about airplanes. This became a lifelong interest, from building and flying model airplanes to learning how to fly small planes under the watchful eyes of his brother-in-law, John Clark of Lakeville.After his discharge in 1952, Al married Carol McLaughlin and moved to the Collinsville/Canton, Conn., area where they raised their family. During this time, Al developed a great love of sailing, which he did for pleasure along with some weekend racing with those who lived on Lakeville’s Lake Wononscopomuc. The winters brought snow and downhill skiing. Al was one of the founding members of the ski patrol at Catamount and worked for 30-plus years at the area, filling many roles including the invention of a chair line evacuation gun as well as becoming a certified National Ski Patrolman. Music was a huge part of Al’s life, from jamming on the accordion with fellow ski patrollers, at the Mount Washington House after skiing to performing with his guitar as Captain Werner von Trapp in Canton Benefit Productions’ “The Sound of Music.”After 18 years of marriage, Al and Carol divorced and he chose to relocate to Raymond, Maine, near the home of his father. The fish in Sebago Lake were calling. It is there he met Elizabeth Roth, with whom he chose to spend his remaining days. The couple were married and settled in Bridgton. Al continued to thrive, with music in the forefront. He and Elizabeth performed and recorded as a guitar and harp duo known as Silk and Steel.The last two years of Allyn’s life were spent in the loving care of the staff at the Bridgton Health Care Facility, and he was assisted by Beacon Hospice Care in his final hours.Al is survived by his wife Elizabeth; his daughter, Deborah Fenn Driver; his son, Christopher Fenn; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.A graveside funeral service was held Feb. 27 at Salisbury Cemetery.