Florence M. McCann, 107, of Falmouth passed away on April 6, 2019, peacefully at her winter home
in Stuart, Florida surrounded by her loving family.
Florence was born and grew up in Falmouth on November 24, 1911, the middle daughter of Edward and Myrtle (Morgan) Winslow.
Growing up in Falmouth was not an easy task. Transportation over the dirt roads was by bicycle or horse and buggy. She had no running water so they caught rain in barrels or a cistern and used kerosene lamps for lights.
At the age of four, her father was shot and killed at the Falmouth Railroad crossing by two hobos. This presented a hardship on the whole family with her mother raising three children ages five, four and two months.
Florence was educated in a one-room schoolhouse until high school where she walked four miles a day to a train or trolley in order to go to Deering High School. She graduated from Deering High School in 1930 and then went on to further her education and graduated from Shaw’s Business College. After graduating, she worked at The Portland Rendering Company and Assurance Insurance.
1n 1935 she married the love of her life, Harvey McCann. In order to be a stay at home mom, she supplemented the family income by raising thousands of chickens.
Her faith was an important part of her life. From birth, she attended the Second Congregational Church, which became the Falmouth Congregational Church. As an active member of Falmouth Congregational Church, she served on many committees, was president of the afternoon and evening guilds, and was a member of the choir for over sixty years. She loved different activities in the church, especially church suppers and Christmas fairs. She was especially famous for her lemon merengue pie made from scratch.
Always practicing her faith, when summered at Cousins Island, she would attend Cousins Island Chapel. Even at the age of 104, she assumed the duty of advertising for the chapel’s summer session. She would write her small summary of who was to preach for the Sunday and take it to The Notes to be published in their paper.
When she went to Florida, she was an associate member of The Stuart Congregational Church. There, she played an integral part of preparing an Easter Dinner for any member of the church.
She was an avid gardener all her life. She loved her vegetable garden, which produced many different vegetables. She also spend many hours in her flower garden taking care of her beautiful roses.
In her early years, she was an active member of the Falmouth Historical Society. She loved to tell about who lived in all the old houses. She also always gave a little bit of history as we traveled the different roads of Falmouth.
In August 2013, she was the recipient of the Boston Post Gold Cane presented to her by the Town of Falmouth. At that time, she was the oldest resident of the town.
Florence was a loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She had a big heart and was always there to give a helping hand. She was extremely involved in all of her family’s activities always attending musicals, sports activities and special achievements.
For Florence, life was all about family, working outdoors in her garden, helping others through missions and living, and showing by example what faith really was.
Florence was predeceased by her husband of 59 years, Harvey McCann, her mother and father, Myrtle and Edward Winslow, her sisters, Hazel Daggett and Ellen Terison, Son-in-law Charles Grubb and great granddaughter Heather Grubb.
She is survived by her daughters, Maureen Grubb and Jeaneen Coleman and Son-in-law Robbie Coleman, grandchildren Lawrence Grubb, Teresa Collins and husband Dana Collins, Rodney Coleman and wife Anne Coleman, Christeen Allen and husband Christopher Allen, great grandchildren Elise Coleman, Kristen Coleman, Morgan Allen, Joshua Allen, Coleman Allen, Shane Allen, Ashley Collins, Jessica Collins, Charles Grubb, William Hoffman along with several nieces and nephews.
A funeral will be held Saturday May 4 at 10 am at the Falmouth Congregational Church, 267 Falmouth Rd., Falmouth, Me. 04105. There will be no visiting hours. Burial will be in Pine Grove Cemetery. Arrangements are being handled by Jones, Rich & Barnes Funeral Home, Portland. Please visit www.jonesrichandbarnes for further information and to sign Florence’s guestbook.
In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to the Falmouth Congregations Church United Church of Christ Memorial Fund, 267 Falmouth Road, Falmouth, Maine 04105.
