She was born in Portland, Maine on October 17, 1931. The only child of Elizabeth R. Drinkwater and Alfred C. Drinkwater. She graduated from what was then the local high school, North Yarmouth Academy in 1951.
She married Clifford Leon Thurston, Jr. on March 1, 1953, and raised five children in the Drinkwater family home where she lived her entire life on Prince’s Point Road in Yarmouth.
After high school she worked at Owen Moore in Portland. She spent several years cutting and packing sardines at the Royal River Sardine Factory in Yarmouth. And when her youngest child entered school, she took a job as one of the lunch ladies with the Yarmouth School Department.
Alfreda was active in the community and a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, the Fireman’s Auxiliary, the Unitarian Universalist Church Ladies Auxiliary, and the Yarmouth Historical Society.
In her lifetime, she saw many changes. She would recall traveling by horse and buggy, which her grandfather used for his postal route. In the winter they would hook up the sleigh and go across the ice to Cousin’s Island. They didn’t travel by car until the early 50’s when she met her husband, Leon. Mom never had an interest in flying, saying it was best to keep her feet firmly planted on the ground. But when her grandson Andrew was to graduate from Marine boot camp in South Carolina, she decided it was time. With her daughter Jean at her side, she flew for the very first time at 82 years old. And even a few more times to visit her daughter Rachel who had moved to Georgia. Although she seldom played sports, she loved talking about the softball game against Freeport when she hit the winning home run. Mom loved to go camping just as much as Dad. They took many family trips around Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Once they took their two youngest daughters to Niagara Falls, up through Canada and across Maine to Campobello Island. Another time they drove their RV to the Berkshires where they met their son who was hiking the Appalachian Trail. Even in the last few years she would join her daughter Ruth and family in their camper for weekend trips where many a s’mores were enjoyed with the great-grandchildren. Whether sitting around a campfire or watching her children play, it brought her great joy.
Alfreda is pre-deceased by her husband Leon in 1998; her mother Elizabeth Robie Drinkwater in 1977; and her father Alfred C. Drinkwater in September 1931 just three weeks before her birth; and her maternal grandfather who helped raise her, Joshua A.G. Drinkwater in 1951. Her nephew David Harmon passed in 2019.
She is survived by her five children: son Dana Drinkwater Thurston and wife Janet of Raymond; daughters Gladys and husband Frank Hilton III of Yarmouth; Jean and husband Richard Slingsby of Manchester N.H.; Ruth and husband Michael Coffey of Yarmouth; and Rachel and husband PO1 John B. VanHouten, USN-RET of Weld. She is survived by six grandchildren: Lynn Ann Hilton Morrill and husband Chris; Frank Hilton IV and wife Alicia; Katherine Slingsby; Sgts. Andrew Slingsby and wife Amia Slingsby USMC; Elizabeth Coffey; and Patrick Coffey and wife Samantha; nephew Richard Thurston and niece Claire Thurston Aljunaibi. Alfreda is also survived by 11 great-grandchildren.
The family invites you to visiting hours on Thursday July 21 from 4 to 7 pm. The service will be Friday July 22 at 11 am. Both at Lindquist Funeral Home 1 Mayberry Lane in Yarmouth. A graveside ceremony we be held after the service at Riverside Cemetery in Yarmouth. All are welcome to join a reception at the Unitarian Universalist Church after the graveside ceremony.
You may offer your condolences at www.lindquistfuneralhome.com
