NORTH HAVEN — Joshua Percy Sprague, 54, passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home on Friday, April 4, 2025. He was born on the island of North Haven, on February 25, 1971 and graduated from North Haven Community School in 1989.

Josh loved his island and island life: raising his two wonderful children, Sierra and Riley; teaching them to play a mean game of cribbage while they were young; working as a lobsterman and carpenter in his earlier years; sharing with family and friends the clams he dug in his “secret” spots and crabmeat he painstakingly picked. He was fanatical about sports, especially basketball, which he played passionately in high school. His classmates say he had them convinced that of course an island boy under six feet tall would make the NBA! One summer he dragged his big screen out on his lawn, inviting friends, family and random passersby to sit around his fire pit - as long as they rooted for the “only team” in baseball (go Sox!).

He took pride in keeping that lawn neatly mowed (his neighbor’s, too) and loved being on his porch feeding his hummingbirds and calling out colorful greetings to walkers, joggers and bikers in hopes of a good reaction. Neighbors and speeding drivers alike came to appreciate his self-appointed neighborhood policing to keep children and pets safe - his trusted baseball bat (billystick) brandished but never used.

He loved to cook. Famous for his homemade chocolate chip cookies, moist French bread and signature spaghetti sauce, he also knew how to make a perfect poached egg (keep the water at a low “simmah”!). He could fix venison six ways to Sunday and reveled in the wafting bodily processes generated by many who consumed it. With chuckles and head shakes, he will be missed for his “special” sense of humor. A great source of pride, both for himself and for his family, was his generosity to North Haven’s Meals for Neighbors program two weeks before he died. With help from his longtime housemate and friend, Bruce, he donated ingredients and cooked a meal. Though incredibly anxious about pulling it off, he made lasagna (with his homemade sauce) and French bread for sixteen grateful islanders - one exclaiming it was the best lasagna they’d ever had!

Josh was predeceased by paternal grandparents, Robert and Priscilla Sprague and maternal grandparents Hazel and Ernest Brown; he is survived by his parents, Terry and Forrest Sprague; sister Melissa Parkerton; children, Riley Sprague and his partner Abbey Lacasse, Sierra Sprague and her partner Dean Cline; and many cousins and second cousins.

There will be a celebration of Josh held on June 7, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at his sister Melissa’s home at 197 North Shore Rd, on North Haven.

In lieu of flowers the family is requesting that donations be made to North Haven’s Meals for Neighbors program. Please send checks made out to North Haven Village Church with Josh’s name in the memo to North Haven Village Church, PO Box 435, North Haven, ME 04853.

To share a memory or condolence with Josh’s family, please visit their Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com. Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland.