OWL’S HEAD — Bonnie Post, of Owls Head, dedicated a lifetime to helping others in myriad ways. She died peacefully January 29, 2023, at the Owls Head Homestead, after a period of declining health.
Bonnie was born in Santa Barbara, California, on January 27, 1944, to Sgt. Francis L. and Mary Foster Dyer, just two days after her father departed for military service in England. After the war, when her father finally met his daughter, the family returned to their roots and purchased their “forever home” in Owls Head Village.
Bonnie attended the one-room Timber Hill School before entering the first class in the newly built Owls Head Central School.
In 1962, she graduated in the last class at the old Rockland High School on Lincoln Street, where she actively participated in everything from Latin and French Clubs to the National Honor Society, the Debate Team, and the National Forensic League.
From there, she headed to Hanover, New Hampshire, receiving a BS/RN degree in 1965 from the Mary Hitchcock School of Nursing, where nurses still wore starched white dresses and caps.
Following graduation, Bonnie received the nursing school’s highest score in the certification exams, and, at a later class reunion, she received the school’s prestigious Florence Nightingale Award. Some years later, Bonnie received a B.S. in Education from Vermont’s Goddard College, where her Senior Study project focused on the ecology of Maine’s Metinic Island.
On June 19, 1965, in a candlelight ceremony, Bonnie and Frank E. Post became the first couple married at the new Rockland Congregational Church. Two years later, they headed to Ketchikan, Alaska, where Frank served in the Coast Guard and Bonnie founded a multicultural day-care center. Together, they also helped establish a popular coffeehouse, a gathering place where everyone was welcome.
Following their Alaska stint, the young couple returned to Maine, where Bonnie founded Coastal Child Care, filling a critical need for Rockland and surrounding communities.
In 1974, Bonnie became a Maine State Representative, the first Democrat elected to the Knox County seat in 40 years. During her four productive two-year terms in the office, she left her mark — chairing five committees, serving as a member of four other committees, and influencing legislation on marine resources, taxation, and rural development. She also chaired the Joint Select Committee on Indian Land Claims.
Following her legislative work, she became a project staff organizer for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), after which she spent 20 years as Executive Director of the Maine Ambulatory Care Coalition (now the Maine Primary Care Association), coordinating with national offices and overseeing a dozen rural health centers in Maine.
Throughout her career, Bonnie earned statewide and national recognition for her determined efforts on behalf of Maine citizens.
Bonnie loved spending her leisure time with her husband, Frank, at their summer home on Metinic Island. The couple honeymooned on the house boat on Metinic and later built a larger house for themselves on the island, where they would spend their summers.
Bonnie also looked forward to spending part of the winter in Florida each year, splitting time between Fort Myers and Key West.
Bonnie was predeceased by her parents, Mary F. and Francis L. Dyer, and her in-laws, Luella and Ralph Post.
She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Frank E. Post; her sister, Lucy Dyer Levenseler, and her husband, Jon Levenseler; her brothers- and sisters-in-law Woodbury Post and his wife Jud, Ralph Post and his partner Nancy Eugley; her nephews Jamie F. Levenseler and his wife Lora and their son Calvin; Larkin Post and his wife Sarah and their son Owen; Jacob Post and his wife Melissa; Ryan Post and his partner Cheri Savage; her niece Becca Maltais and her husband Frank and their son Carter; her former sister-in-law Mary Lou Post; as well as many cousins on both sides of the family.
Bonnie’s family would like to thank the staff at the Owls Head Homestead, the medical team of MaineHealth Care at Home, and Coastal Family Hospice Volunteers.
A memorial gathering will be held on Thursday, February 9, at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland, beginning at 3 p.m. with a brief service, followed by an hour of visitation and reminiscence.
Memorial donations may be sent to the Owl’s Head Village Library, Mary Dyer Children’s Room, P.O. Box 98, Owls Head, ME 04854, or Mussel Ridge Historical Society, P.O. Box 133, Owls Head, ME 04854.
To share a memory or story with Bonnie’s family, please visit their online Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com
