Aubrey L. Spaulding

A person who made the most of every day of his life, who always saw the positive in every situation, patient, kind, compassionate, and loved deeply by those whom he was closest to, Aubrey Leroy Spaulding passed on January 10, 2019. An avid reader and traveler, Aubrey was often seen with a camera around his neck and a smile on his face. They say that you can understand the things a man values by watching what he photographs. Aubrey’s albums are filled with images of family, friends, flowers, birds, animals, architecture, and travels from Alaska to Scotland, and every place in between.

Born in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine in 1925, one of eight children, the son of Marshall and Hazel Spaulding, Aubrey recounted long 4 mile walks to school, fishing trips with his brothers and father, and picking potatoes in the fall. In 1943, Aubrey graduated from Foxcroft Academy and joined the Navy. He trained in aviation and served in Carrier Air Group 18 upon the U.S.S. Intrepid. After an honorable discharge in 1946, Aubrey attended the University of Maine, received a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1950, and began working for Public Service of New Hampshire that same year. Aubrey met Betty Saulnier in 1960 on a blind date and knew that he wanted to spend his life with her. The two were married on February 3, 1961, in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and honeymooned in Bermuda. They built a wonderful life together and raised two children—Gary and Kerry. They travelled cross-country stopping often to see the sites including Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, Little Bighorn, and Colorado Springs. The country could not contain Aubrey’s love for travel and he and Betty also enjoyed travels to Sweden, France, and the Netherlands. After Aubrey retired from Public Service he cared for his ailing wife independently for over a decade until her passing on March 28, 2000. Aubrey valued the importance of family, the type of man who would give you the shirt off his back if that was what you needed.

To have known Aubrey was to know a man who knew the value of a smile. A man who saw the good not only in people, but in difficult situations. A man whose laugh brought a grin to your face and who’s kindness was unmet. He was unassuming and simultaneously could easily fill the room with his uplifting spirit and bright outlook. A lover of nature, he was always ready to explore, but was similarly fulfilled with a good book in a comfortable chair. For those friends and family who knew Aubrey, his passing will leave a lasting loss in their hearts and all will recall his ever-present prayer and toast, “May you never see the back of your neck.”

Aubrey is predeceased by his beloved wife, Betty Spaulding, and two brothers, Merle and Marshall, and three sisters, Maxine, Irma, and Beverly. He is survived by a Brother, Harlan Spaulding and his wife Phyllis of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine; a sister Charlene Page of Dexter, Maine; a son and daughter-in-law Gary and Linda Spaulding, of Santa Rosa Beach Florida; a daughter and son-in-law Kerry and Laurence Alvarez, of Jaffrey New Hampshire. Four granddaughters, Tawny Alvarez, Crystal Armstrong and her husband Josiah, Whitney Olitch and her husband Jeff, and LeAnne Ivey; seven great-grandchildren, Aloma, Jubilee, Lillian, Asher, Brianna, Legacy, and Thomas; as well as extended family and friends. Aubrey will be interred with his late-wife in Dover-Foxcroft in the summer. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Jaffrey Food Pantry or the Dover Foxcroft American Legion.