Josephine Blake Bail

The daughter of Lewis and Ethel Rand Blake, Jo was born on August 5, 1921 and grew up in LaGrange, Maine. She graduated from the University of Maine, class of ’42 where she majored in Home Economics and was an “All Maine Woman.” Upon graduation she began her career as a youth advocate touring Knox County as the 4H County Extension Agent.

She and her husband, Donald Bail, moved to the Millinocket area in 1946 where they raised three daughters in the shadows of Mt. Katahdin and the Great Northern Paper Company. Jo loved the energy and enthusiasm of young people and after years of volunteering in the community and church, she returned to the classroom as a 5th grade teacher in Medway.

In 1967 the Bail family moved to South Portland where Jo taught 5th grade at the Roosevelt School. Fifty years later she was still interested in the successes of her students and in contact with the family of a beloved South African AFS student who lived with the Bails for a year.

Ever faithful to her belief in God’s call for community service and compassion to all, after she and Don moved to South Freeport in 1974 she became active in Freeport Community Services, Freeport Women’s Club, and the South Freeport Congregational Church (UCC). She enjoyed her community, especially her Cushing Briggs neighbors who, for fun, formed the Mud Flats Social Club.

Jo was an adventurer. Always curious, she loved to read and travel. She and Don visited many countries and all 50 states. She loved the ocean and with Don sailed Casco Bay and the Maine Coast--without GPS and modern navigational equipment.

Her home and beautiful property on the Harraseeket River was open to all and hosted many happy events, including their 75th wedding anniversary in 2019. In their late nineties, she and Don moved to BaySquare in Yarmouth. Most recently Jo enjoyed walking the circuit around BaySquare delivering puzzles and companionship, playing bridge with her South Freeport ladies, and visiting with family and friends. Jo was an active and vibrant lady until the very end.

She took great pride in her three daughters and their husbands: Linda Bail and George Casey of Freeport, ME, Carolyn and Melvyn Miller of Coral Gables, FL, and Judith and Stanley Colla of Hanover, NH. She also enjoyed her five grandsons and their wives (Peter and Kristin Casey, Matthew and Lauren Casey, Geoffrey and Carrie Colla, Timothy and Rachel Colla, Bradford and Jill Miller), two granddaughters and their husbands (Michael and Andrea Miller Boyer, Adam and Bethann Miller Nativ), and 17 great grandchildren.

Jo’s family wishes to thank the wonderful staff at BaySquare for their kind and compassionate support over nearly three years and those at Gosnell Memorial Home Hospice who provided tender and caring assistance during Jo’s final hours.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held July 30, 2022 at 2:00 pm in the South Freeport Church. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Jo’s memory to the Endowment of the South Freeport Congregational Church (98 South Freeport Road, Freeport, ME 04032) or the Blake Scholarship at the University of Maine Foundation (75 Clearwater Drive #202, Falmouth, ME 04105).