PENDLETON, Leland N

Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home Rockland, Maine, April 27, 2011 Leland N Pendleton, 88, died following a brief illness, Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport. Born on Isleboro, November 1, 1922, he was the son of Cecil and Gladys Gilkey Pendleton and a 1939 graduate of Isleboro High School. Leland enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving during World War II. In 1958 Leland purchased and ran the Friendly Market on Main Street. Upon selling the market, Leland worked as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in Rockland for 27 years, serving as President and Shop Steward for Local 131 for many terms, before retiring in 1982. He was Master of the Aurora Lodge AF&M #50 in 1964 and again in 1977. After his "retirement" Leland kept busy driving the Midcoast area to deliver items such as automobiles for many of the local car dealersships, films, donuts, and people needing travel assistance through the PALS program. He took great joy in planting new flower beds, and especially loved when neighbors stopped for a rest in his backyard swing with a view of Rockland Harbor. This was a favorite place for walkers to stop and sit, and a perfect spot for Leland to visit and catch up on neighborhood news. Known to some as "the Mayor of PenBay Acres", all the neighbors knew they were welcome in the "Garden of Leland". When he wasn't "resting up", as he liked to say, from all his yard work, Leland enjoyed staying connected with the world around him by playing checkers online. He had logged thousands of games and had competed against people from all over the world. One of Leland's greatest adventures involved a collaboration with his wife and Colorado artist Daniel Carr on a design for the Maine State quarter. Their original design included a large image of the three-masted local schooner the Victory Chimes. It was one of four selected by Governor King for submission to the US Mint. The design was subsequently modified, but the Pendleton family became celebrities for a time. They fielded questions from television news stations and newspapers from all over the nation. Leland, a Pendleton family genealogist, was well known for his unique sense of humor. He loved people, and once he made a friend, they were friends for life. Predeceased by his sister Kathleen Farnham; Leland is survived by his wife of nearly 65 years Carolyn Pendleton; his daughters, Dianne Poore and her husband Garry of Wickenburg, Arizona; Faith Walsh and her husband James of Exeter, New Hampshire; his son, James Pendleton and his wife Dawn Lenz of Erie, Colorado; three grandchildren, Shawn Bean of Philadelphia, Pennsylvnia, Andrew Walsh of Exeter, New Hampshire, Kevin Walsh of Boston, Massachusetss, as well as several nieces and cousins. At the request of the family, no services will be held at this time. A graveside service will be announced in the summer.