JEFFERSON — Bessie M. (Schwarz) Lund was born at the Queens Hospital in Portland on July 12, 1930, the youngest child and only daughter of W. Frederick Schwarz and Mae E. (Mitchell) Schwarz. She grew up on Chamberlain Avenue with her parents; two older brothers, Robert and Richard; grandfather “gramps” David Schwarz; and housekeeper, Miss Annie Noyes, who lived with them and was thought of as family. Bess attended Nathan Clifford School, Lincoln Junior High School, Deering High School Class of 1948, and Northeastern Business College. She employed her secretarial skills, including typing and shorthand, in a variety of jobs in Portland: the courthouse, the gas company, the bus company (in the Maine Central Railroad office building).

Bess enjoyed growing up in Portland and had wonderful memories despite the depression and WW2 worries for her brothers deployed overseas. Sliding down the hill to Deering Oaks and skating on the Duck Pond, Sunday rides in the family’s Buick to the White Mountains while sitting on her mother’s lap in the back seat with a brother on each side and her father and grandfather (who both worked 6 days a week at their hat store on 257 Middle Street) in the front seats smoking cigars with the windows rolled up tight. Bess was paid 5 cents by her grandfather for each white horse that she saw, while her brothers received 1 cent per cow on their respective sides but lost their money if they passed a cemetery. When her father worked late during the holidays, Bess would bring him a fried egg sandwich from a nearby restaurant. When her father got home from work in the evenings, she would walk with her Dad to Union Station, have a glass of pure Sebago Lake water and walk home.

Bess maintained lifelong friendships with her school classmates throughout the years including Mildred Curran Foss and Beverly Winckler Cox Karantza whom she had met in the 2nd or 3rd grades. She enjoyed Deering High School class reunions, which became yearly events in Bridgton up until 2015. She attended monthly lunches with 8 of her high school classmates at local Portland restaurants like Brunos up until 2018.

Bess married Arthur H. Lund in 1954, and they immediately moved to Old Town where Arthur enrolled at University of Maine at Orono under the GI bill, while Bess worked in the University of Maine offices at Winslow Hall. Upon Art’s 1958 graduation in engineering, they moved to Waldoboro, where Art taught sciences at Waldoboro High School for three years before working as an engineer for Vocaline (later VAST) and other engineering firms. During this time, Art built their house on Main Street with Bess assisting him on many tasks. Bess enjoyed living in Waldoboro despite the small-town change from growing up in Portland. Bess & Art’s two sons were born while living in Waldoboro before moving to Jefferson.

Bess had always loved swimming at the beaches around Portland while growing up, so she was happy to have the Jefferson beach on Damariscotta Lake within walking distance. She walked her sons to the beach every day that she could when they were young. She enjoyed snowshoeing in the winters. She also taught Cub Scouts, planted and tended gardens for years, canned vegetables, relish, and apple sauce, baked date- filled cookies, rolls and bread.

While her children were young, she had a variety of short-term employments with the state including the Maine State Library, Department of Education and Human Services before working for the Department of Purchasing for the last 16 years until retirement as a Buyer in 1996. Bess kept in touch with her state worker friends “education group” over the years, getting together for various social events including swimming, barbecues, and restaurants.

In the 1980s, she was able to visit Washington DC and Florida, places she had always wanted to see while growing up. She also was able to visit some of the national parks in the Western US & Hawaii along with interesting destinations in Canada, Europe, and Mexico.

Bess died November 30, 2025, at age 95, at the Maine Medical Center in Portland with her sons by her side. She will be missed deeply by her sons and all those who loved her.

Bess was preceded in death by her parents, Fred and Mae Schwarz; her husband, Arthur H. Lund; her brothers, Robert and Richard; and her son Eric’s partner, Cynthia ‘Cyndi’ Stillings.

She is survived by her sons Scott A. Lund of Waldoboro and Eric J. Lund of Jefferson.

Arrangements are under the care of Hall Funeral Home and Cremation Services. To share a condolence with the Lund family, visit www.hallfuneralhomes.com.