WARREN — Edward Lawlor Courtenay, 79, of Warren, Maine, passed away peacefully in his sleep on May 21, 2021.

The eldest of four, he was born February 5, 1942, in Melrose, Massachusetts to Richard L. and Catherine V. (Stefan) Courtenay. He grew up in Wakefield, Massachusetts and attended area schools, graduating in 1959. He went on to study drafting at the Wentworth Institute.

Ed enlisted in the United States Coast Guard in Boston in 1961 and served as a signalman and quartermaster aboard the USS McCulloch, WAVP-386. The ship’s primary mission took it to ocean stations between Greenland and Bermuda for weeks at a time, but during his enlistment it was also pressed into service as part of the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was of his time in the service that he was most proud. Years later he would continue to serve as a member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary in Rockland. He greatly enjoyed being on the water again, helping tend the many aids to navigation in Penobscot and Muscongus Bays.

Ed met his wife, Carole in, 1964 and they were married on December 17, 1966. They moved from Wakefield, Massachusetts to their current home in Warren in 1970.

Ed began work at the Maine State Prison in Thomaston in 1970 and retired in 1995 after 26 years, serving for many years as Night Captain. He was active in union negotiations and also served as armorer. It was at the Prison that he made many of his closest and lifelong friends. After his retirement he went on to serve on the Governor’s Board of Visitors to the Prison.

An avid fisherman, he and Carole spent many summers fishing for togue in Moosehead Lake from their camp in Northeast Carry, and chasing brook trout in every pond, stream, and road crossing from Millinocket to Jackman. During these travels he developed many hand-drawn maps of the North Maine Woods, eventually crossing paths with David DeLorme of Maine Atlas and Gazetteer fame. DeLorme incorporated Ed’s maps into his nascent Gazetteer and gave him an “Unofficial Field Surveyor” t-shirt in exchange, which he wore proudly for many years.

Ed was active on many volunteer boards, especially ones focused on sportsman’s and recreational and commercial fishing issues. He was a hunter safety instructor. He also served on the Moosehead Lake Fisheries Coalition for 20 years. He was active in the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, serving on the Fishing Initiative Committee for nearly 30 years. He was also a part of their Invasive Species Task Force and represented SAM on the DEP/IFW Interagency Task Force on Invasive Aquatic Plants and Nuisance Species. He was a life member of the Millinocket Fin & Feather Club.

Ed was also very active in the Knox County Republican Committee and represented Warren as a delegate to nearly every caucus in the last 30 years.

He was a Fish Warden for the Town of Warren and helped oversee the town’s alewife fishery. He took this very seriously and networked with others in the region to protect and improve the fishery. He was an officer of the Alewife Harvesters of Maine and also served on the Georges River Shellfish Commission. His interest in protecting the river and its fisheries played a role in bringing him to serve on the Warren Sanitary District’s Board of Trustees for more than 20 years, many of those as Chairman.

Ed was very active in St. Brendan the Navigator Parish in Rockland and served as a eucharistic minister and sacristan for many years until the present. He found special fulfillment in bringing the Sacrament of Holy Communion to elderly and shut-in members of the Parish who were unable to attend Mass, and he enjoyed helping them to live as independently as possible in other ways.

He was predeceased by his parents, and in 1999 by his youngest brother, Paul, of Stoneham, Massachusetts.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Carole, as well as four children: son Michael and his wife Betsy of Warren, son Mark and his wife Terry of Arizona, son Brian of Kentucky, and son Richard of Warren.

He is also survived by three adult grandchildren: Jacob of Texas, Nathaniel and his partner Shyanne Waterman of Warren, and James of Nobleboro.

He is survived as well by his brother David and wife Virginia of Dracut, Massachusetts; and his sister, Teresa Franz and her husband Richard of Hickory, North Carolina.

A funeral and Mass will be said for Ed at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Rockland on Saturday, July 3, at 1 p.m.

An interment service will take place at the Maine Veteran’s Cemetery in Augusta at a later date.

Hall’s of Waldoboro has care of the arrangements. To extend online condolences visit Bob’s Book of Memories at hallfuneralhomes.com.