BELFAST, Maine/HUDSON, Massachusetts — Doc Jollie passed away comfortably at Sterling Village Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on December 17 , 2020, of what he would have diagnosed as, “one too many birthdays.”

Peter MacFarlane Oswald Jollie was born in Pateley Bridge, England on April 28, 1930 to Dr. Andrew Oswald Jollie and Annie MacFarlane (Dickson) Jollie of Edenborough, Scotland. Like most English boys, Peter enjoyed playing sports growing up. He excelled in both rugby and cricket, later playing hooker for the Halifax Union Rugby Team, and bowling for the Sowerby Bridge Cricket Club, where his claim to fame was being able to throw an Overhand Googly.

Following in the family tradition of medicine, Peter enrolled at Leeds Medical School in 1948, commuting from home in order to help raise his two, younger siblings, Ann and Ian. After receiving his medical degree, Peter married his childhood sweetheart, Marjorie (Jubb) Jollie, in the fall of 1955, before being conscripted into the Royal Air Force. Over the course of his 16-year military career, Peter rose to the rank of Wing Commander; attended practice flights for a young, student pilot known to us as Prince Charles; became an expert in tropical disease while stationed in the Maldives, and worked as a flight surgeon alongside Chuck Yeager and Neil Armstrong during the Allies’ highly classified U2 Aerospace Program.

Upon retiring from the RAF, a clipping from Downeast Magazine led Peter to take over a medical practice in Belfast, Maine. Despite being “from away,” he worked hard to integrate into the tightknit community. His patients and co-workers at Waldo County General fondly remember his silly English sayings and fits of good nature, like singing Christmas Carols during a December delivery. “Doc Jollie,” as he was affectionately known, delivered more than 3,000 babies during his tenure in Belfast – a lasting testament to the town and people who embraced him as their doctor and gave his family a lasting home.

In retirement Doc Jollie continued his passion for community medicine, conducting locums from Brooks to Millinocket to bring care to rural communities. He enjoyed living by the ocean, playing golf at Northport Country Club, and teaching himself to sail. In his later years, he moved to Massachusetts to be closer to his daughters and grandchildren and spent his 90th birthday fondly reminiscing over the comments of friends, patients and former colleagues on social media. Despite living a thousand lives – rubbing elbows with royalty, astronauts, and U2 Pilots, he was most fulfilled by the relationships he made in Belfast, Maine.

Peter was predeceased by his younger brother, Ian Jollie, and his wife, Marjorie (Jubb) Jollie, who, many said, made him socially acceptable.

He is survived by his sister and brother-in-law, Ann and Rodney Pierson of Huddersfield, England; daughter and son-in-law, Jane and Michael White of Belfast, and their sons Ian and Nick White; daughter Susan Maxwell of Clinton, Massachusetts, and her children Owen, Elizabeth, and Rosemary Maxwell; daughter Philippa Jollie of Belfast, countless nieces and nephews still living in the UK and Europe, and his last, beloved pet, Spot the Wonder Cat.

There will be a celebration of Peter’s life, when it’s safe to do so.

In lieu of flowers, Peter and his family would prefer donations be made to the Belfast Public Health Nursing Association or to the Waldo County Woodshed. McNally & Watson Funeral Home, Clinton, Massachusetts is directing arrangements.