CAMDEN — Richard Henry Ames, 88, passed away peacefully April 11, 2015, at Knox Center For Long Term Care in Rockland, with his wife, Betty, holding his hand. Born in Camden on Oct. 4, 1926, he was the son of Fred C. and Rita (Huntley) Ames and was a 1944 graduate of Camden High School. From 1951 to 1953, he served in the U.S. Army, primarily in a field maintenance unit in Korea.

Richard was a man who could solve his own problems and worked on his own equipment on his farm in Searsmont, raising dairy cattle and laying hens. He worked at the Searsmont Village School for 27 years as custodian and bus driver, alongside his first wife, Margaret. The school was later named, The Ames School, in their honor. For many years at the school, Margaret prepared meals and boxed them up, and Richard delivered them to another local school.

No stranger to hard work, Richard was always busy in the woods or on the farm making a life for his family. He also served as a selectman for the town of Searsmont.

After Margaret's passing in 2006, Richard married his old high school sweetheart, Betty Leach Beveridge, and for the last seven years, they have made their home in Camden.

Surviving is his second wife, Betty Beveridge Ames of Camden; his four children, Cynthia Huston of Greer, S.C., Paul Ames, James Ames and his wife, Joanne, and Richard Ames and his wife, Annette, all of Searsmont; multiple grandchildren; great-grandchildren; great-great-grandchildren; a sister, Marjorie Sawyer of Camden; and nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his first wife, Margaret Erskine Ames; and a grandson, Tom Poland.

Calling hours will be held Wednesday, April 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Long Funeral Home, 9 Mountain St. in Camden. There will be a funeral service held at Thursday, April 16 at 2 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints, 66 Old County Road in Rockport. Spring burial will be in Oak Grove Cemetery in Searsmont.

If desired, memorial gifts may be made to the Searsmont Fire Dept. & Rescue, P.O. Box 50, Searsmont, ME 04973.