CAMDEN — Orman M. "Sonny" Goodwin, 82, passed away on Sept. 4, 2016, at The Sussman House in Rockport. He was born Feb. 23, 1934, in Camden, to Orman Manley Goodwin Sr. and Evelyn Louise (Ryder) Goodwin Springer.

Sonny lived his entire life in Camden. He was proud to have descended from the original Richards brothers who settled Camden and Lincolnville. He graduated from Camden High School in 1951. After high school, he attended The Wentworth Institute in Boston, where he received a degree in building construction management.

Sonny married his high school sweetheart, Bebe Leonard, in 1953 in Camden, where they raised their two daughters, Jill and Jan. They were happily married for 63 years.

After college, Sonny worked for Kendall Hopkins and then Clarence Thomas in the construction business. In 1959, he and Bob Monroe founded Monroe & Goodwin Inc. which still is in operation. He never completely retired, though he said he was.

The Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville Chamber of Commerce named him Town Person of the Year in 2002, and the Camden Town Report was dedicated to him in 2003, among many other awards. He will be inducted into the Maine Ski Hall of Fame in October. He was a longtime member of the Camden Planning Board, the Camden Budget Committee, the Affordable Housing Board and the Vesper Hill Board. He was also a strong advocate for the building industry and instrumental in the organization and success of the Midcoast Builders Alliance. Sonny played a major role in the lives of many successful businessmen today, through their having worked for and learned from him.

Sonny deeply loved his family, friends, the Class of '51 and Camden. He felt his life's work as a building contractor was more a joy to him than a job. He loved the challenges of building or repairing the homes and businesses in the area. If anyone told him something was impossible, he'd creatively figure out a way to do it anyway.

Very passionate about skiing, Sonny had been a director of the Camden Outing Club since he was a teen, volunteering countless hours at the Snow Bowl. Monroe & Goodwin built the lodge, and installed the T-bar, chairlift and snowmaking machinery under his direction. In the late1970s, Sonny and Bebe purchased a place at Sugarloaf and spent many winters skiing there.

His hobbies included history, reading, vegetable gardening (planting was his favorite part, not the weeding), hunting (which was more about hanging out in the woods than getting a deer) and golf, which he first took up in his early 70s for fun.

A natural storyteller, Sonny published his first book in February of this year. Tales from the Life of Sonny was a 24-year project to write down many of his favorite stories from his life, originally in order to learn to type. Though his two-finger typing method remained constant, the project was a labor of love. It was well received by the public and he was on his third printing. The sequel was in the works and will be published at a later date.

Sonny was kind to everyone and was the first in line to give his time and energy to make Camden a wonderful place. His sense of humor was unique in that it was kind, thoughtful and always brightened your day. Whenever he saw someone, he was ready with a story and some comment to make them laugh. Even when Sonny was not feeling well, he managed to make those around him laugh at his wit.

He said he'd had a wonderful life and enjoyed every bit of it.

The family would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to the exceptional nurses, CNAs and volunteers at the Sussman House for the loving care they gave Sonny and our family. They are all angels.

Sonny was preceded in death by his parents.

Sonny is survived by his wife, Bebe of Camden; his daughters, Jill Goodwin of Belfast and Jan Warren and her husband, Peter, of Camden; his sister, Sandra Sears of Lincolnville; his grandsons, Lee Warren of Bozeman, Mont., and Devin Warren of Twinsburg, Ohio; several nieces and nephews and many, many, wonderful friends.

A celebration of life will be held at 3PM, Saturday, Oct. 1, at 3 p.m. at Hedges Hall at Point Lookout in Northport. Private burial was in the Mountain View Cemetery in Camden on Sept. 7, 2016.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations be made to Sussman House, c/o Pen Bay Health Foundation, 22 White St., Rockland ME 04841; Ski Museum of Maine, P.O. Box 359, Kingfield, ME 04947 or to CRHS Alumni Association Scholarship, c/o Sheila McFarland, 448 Youngtown Road, Lincolnville, ME 04849

Arrangements are with Long Funeral Home.