Arthur Houser Hamlin

Arthur was born in Milo, Maine in 1934. He was a gentle husband and father who always greeted others with a warm smile and willingness to pitch in when needed. He was an engineer through and through, always eager to find ways to make things function better. He loved thinking outside the box to solve engineering challenges.

Growing up in Milo he shared many adventures with his older brothers, David and Paul. Together they rebuilt a Willys Jeep and enjoyed countless hours exploring the Maine outdoors. He also always fully supported Paul’s “explosive” efforts to make loud noises. After graduating from Milo High School, he attended the University of Maine, earning a Mechanical Engineering degree in 1957. More importantly, while in Orono he met his one and only Marianne, successfully overcoming her initial concerns and winning her hand in a long and happy marriage.

After college he worked at Lycoming, testing aircraft engines. He then joined DuPont in Newburgh, New York. In early 1958 he completed his basic training at Lackland AFB, Texas and served in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. In 1959, after her graduation from the University of Maine, they tied the knot the day after Christmas, and built their first home in Monroe, NY. While working full time, he earned an MBA from Rutgers in 1963, attending night school. Later they moved to Hendersonville, Tennessee where they raised two children and enjoyed sailing a houseboat on Old Hickory Lake. They also started a side business selling Stardust Cruiser houseboats, one of their initial forays into entrepreneurship.

DuPont transferred Arthur to Pennsylvania in 1970, where he was able to spend more time with the “Delaware” branch of the family - his brother David, sister-in-law Jane-Arthur, niece Faye, and nephews David and Garrett. This is also where he fell in love with the many wonderful anchorages on the Chesapeake Bay and continued his many years as a sailor. In Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, he created two of the most famous gifts for his children, which live on today - Smiley the (concrete) Turtle, and “the cannon” - a look-alike artillery piece mounted onto a WWII naval gun mount that had been used at the DuPont Experimental Station to track Sputnik just after it was launched. While in Kennett Square, Arthur acquired a Ford 501 Workmaster tractor that he kept with him even as he downsized from 20 acres, to 5 in New Jersey, and finally to their garage in Rockland, Maine. The tractor found a good home and is now in use at the Owls Head Transportation museum.

In 1976 the family moved to NJ where they lived for over fifteen years, enjoying many friends and rounds of golf, tennis, and platform tennis at the Mendham Golf & Tennis Club. Meanwhile in New Jersey, Arthur created his dream job by acquiring several small manufacturing companies that he ultimately consolidated into one facility in Maryland. Owning a small manufacturing facility gave him unlimited access to a range of power tools, large and small. He relished the opportunity not only to ‘engineer’ products, but also to understand how they could be fabricated first-hand by operating the machine tools himself.

Living in Maryland had other benefits for him and Marianne. They enjoyed sailing on the Chesapeake Bay, and he was a proud member of both the Eastport and Annapolis Yacht Clubs. He continued to take great interest in anything that required math or engineering, including completing a course on celestial navigation at the Mystic Seaport, where his cousin Donald Treworgy ran the planetarium, and developing new pieces of equipment for his boats.

After finally selling their company, Arthur and Marianne spent almost two decades as snowbirds traveling between Maine, Maryland, and Florida, where they developed many close friendships and shared good times on and off the water. Always drawn to the water, Arthur never tired of the views or opportunity to sail, motor, kayak, or swim in salt or freshwater. He was a supporter of the Rockland Historical Society and University of Maine, and they both loved being close to the Farnsworth Gallery in Rockland, ME and the Brandywine Museum in Chadds Ford, PA over the years. Arthur was a proud lifelong member of the Piscataquis Masonic Lodge, and served with Sertoma, Rotary, local planning boards, library board, and multiple condo associations.

In 2020 Arthur and Marianne moved to The Cedars complex in Portland, Maine, conveniently close to Suzanne, Paul, and their grandchildren. Arthur spent his last years in the warm and caring Lunder Household at The Cedars complex.

Arthur was the youngest son of Jean Paul Hamlin (1895-1959) from Milo, Maine and Marguerite Houser Hamlin (1898-1987) from San Mateo and Miami, Florida. Pre-deceased by his brothers and two beloved nieces, Arthur is survived by wife Marianne Schmidt Hamlin, sister-in-law Jean Pettengill Hamlin, son Paul Schmidt Hamlin, daughter-in-law Julie Hocevar Hamlin, granddaughters Raisa and Aysel Hamlin, daughter Suzanne Elizabeth Hamlin, son-in-law Ian J. Kahn, step-grandsons Aidan and Eli Kahn, five nephews, and many grand nieces and nephews.

His laughter, generous spirit, and ever-questing mind will be missed by all who knew him.

Please visit www.jonesrichandbarnes.com to leave condolences for the Hamlin family and share a memory of Arthur.