Mary Lavina Fredricks

BRUNSWICK – Mary Lavina Fredricks, “Molly” to her friends, “Molly-O” to family and “Baba” to her grandkids, died from complications due to cancer in Brunswick on March 7, 2022, surrounded by close family. She was 73.

Molly was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. on April 4, 1948 to Catherine and Linson Fredricks. Catherine was an elementary school teacher and Linson practiced law. When Molly was 2 the family moved to Garden City South, N.Y. Molly attended parochial schools in Hempstead N.Y., graduating from Sacred Heart Academy in 1966.

She went on to attend college at Catholic University in Washington D.C., graduating in 1970. She married Nicholas Rehagen that same year. They moved to the Midwest for graduate school, and that’s where Molly earned a master’s degree in rehab counseling from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1974.

Molly and Nick moved to Maine in 1974 and eventually settled in Leeds in a farmhouse from the 1700s on 45 acres of land. In Leeds, Molly found a community of close friends whom she stayed in touch with until her death. Together, they founded a book group that continues to meet 30 years on.

Shortly after arriving in Maine, Molly began work in Lewiston at Tri-county Mental Health Services as a caseworker supervisor for a groups of clinicians tasked with managing the deinstitutionalization of Pineland Center.

It was around that time that her two children, Catherine and Jon, were born. Molly and Nick divorced in 1984, but Molly would collaborate with Nick for the rest of her life in caring for both their children and grandchildren.

Molly earned a second master’s degree in social work from the University of Connecticut in 1986, leading her to a decades-long career as an LCSW.

At her private practice in Lewiston and as part of medical clinics in Leeds and Livermore Falls, Molly made a big difference in the mental health and wellbeing of hundreds of clients. Her work was her vocation, and she practiced until the week of her cancer diagnosis.

Throughout her life, Molly nurtured a deep curiosity about those around her and the human condition writ large. She could talk to anybody, and those who met her were often drawn to talk with her and sought her advice and counsel.

Molly always loved travel. Early in life, she traveled all over the U.S. Later, Molly got a taste for going abroad, visiting Timbuktu, Egypt, Russia, India and most European countries.

Molly had a talent for watercolors and would make cards and paintings regularly for loved ones and close friends.

Late in life, Molly moved to a downtown condo in Portland and moved her counseling practice as well. She spent an increasing amount of time forming close bonds with her grandchildren and derived great joy from entertaining and being entertained by them.

Molly is survived by her sister, Catherine Rocco and husband Richard; her daughter, Catherine Fredricks and husband Dan Ankeles, her son, Jon Rehagen and wife Emily; her grandchildren Sam, Lucy and Charlotte; and numerous New York cousins.

Funeral services will take place on April 30. There will be a mass in Molly’s honor at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Brunswick at 11 a.m. This will be followed by a memorial service/gathering of friends and family to celebrate her life at Frontier Café, 14 Main St., Fort Andross, Brunswick at 1 p.m.

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