MONTVILLE — Alison Dunton Brumby, 62, born to Virginia and William Brumby on June 29, 1953, died Dec. 23, 2015, at home in the house she built with her own hands.

Alison passed after a long battle with melanoma. She lived her life in a manner uniquely her own. Born and raised in central Massachusetts, Alison came to Maine at the tender age of 16 to attend Oak Grove, a boarding high school in Vassalboro. Maine became Al's permanent home.

Alison is known for her incredible ability to vision what is possible and the know-how to make it happen. She was a visual artist, a talented wood worker and carpenter, a contractor, a house builder and an entrepreneur. Alison studied wildlife illustration with Caroline Wyeth, the daughter of NC Wyeth. She also apprenticed with Edward H. Hergelroth, a retired professor of art at Temple University, for four years in Cape Neddick. Alison was an illustrator as well as a landscape artist. Her ability to create beauty through the use of her hands, whether painting or wood working, is evident. All one needs to do is see the house she built in Montville.

Alison was a Jack-of-all-trades. In her younger years she worked on a dairy farm in central Maine and loved the cows and people she worked with. She was part of the Cianbro team on the Madison Paper Mill Project as well as a contractor and carpenter. Alison bought and renovated an old house in Albion, where she lived for many years. Then, much like Daniel Boone, Al wanted some more elbow room and in the early 1990s purchased land in Montville and built her home from the ground up with a little help from her friends using her artistic vision and incredible building skills. Al's favorite tool was her chainsaw and she called it chainsaw carpentry. The inside of Alison's home is known for her artistic use of live edge wood gathered from her land.

Alison spent much of her time working at her manufacturing business, Quality Deck Plugs, making and selling deck plugs (bungs) for boats and fine furniture. She continued this trade along with part-time work at Full Circle Veterinary Clinic and part-time carpentry until August 2014, when she was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma and was no longer able to work.

Alison had many passions. She enjoyed creating art, working in the woods, going to camp, and most of all helping friends and family. She was fiercely loyal, hard working, generous and always ready to lend a hand. Alison was a lover of animals, both domestic and wild, and had many dog and cat companions throughout her lifetime. Whenever around Alison, wild animals would magically appear. . . deer, fox, eagles, otters. Her keen eye, open spirit and love of animals seemed to draw creatures to her.

Alison is survived by her mother, Virginia Dacier; her sister, Joan Ingalls and brother-in-law Ken Ingalls; her brother, David Brumby and sister-in-law Kathy Brumby; her beloved nephews, niece and great-niece, Kenny, Emily, Christopher, David James and his wife, Jen, and their newborn, Lyla Alison; her cousins, Nancy and her partner, Joe, and Betsy and her husband, Peter and their children. She is also survived by her beloved wife, Judy Cohen, her family, their four-legged companions, Daisy, LC and Yoda; and countless friends and acquaintances. She will be greatly missed by all who loved her.

A celebration of life for friends and family will be held sometime in the summer of 2016.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals, P.O. Box 10, South Windham, ME 04082-0010 or visit msspa.org

Arrangements are under the care of Riposta Funeral Home.