BELFAST – Gloria J. Swasey, 90, died in Belfast, on April 5, 2024, in the company of her son, his husband, and the caring and attentive staff of Waldo County General Hospital. She was born on Aug. 24, 1933, in Ashland, to Lloyd and Mary Olean (Thibodeau) Wright, and was raised on a potato farm with her seven siblings.

She moved to Portland with her brother Jim and his family when she was in her twenties. A job as a bank teller was followed by a position at Portland Appliance Service Center, a new venture founded by a member of the extended family, where she became the manager and served for nearly fifty years. Many people, including prominent residents of Greater Portland, would ask for her by name, valuing her honesty, integrity, and frankness. Her hard work and commitment was an important reason why this small business was able to hold its own even in the age of big box stores. She was recognized twice by the Portland Business Journal for the quality of her work.

At her 90th birthday party, Gloria expressed thanks for what she always valued most, her family. A quiet woman of few words, Gloria (nicknamed Goog by family and Glo by friends) will always be remembered for her generosity, kindness, dependability, strength of character, forthrightness, and staunch independence. She had a wry sense of humor and a unique ability to play with words, creating funny and clever nicknames and expressions to describe the people and places she encountered. She greatly enjoyed being at home (in her “nest” as she called it), cherishing the time she spent with neighbors in the community where she lived for almost 60 years. 

Gloria was predeceased by her husband Everett P. Swasey. She is survived by her son Michael Wright and his husband Van Bankston; one sister, MaryAnn Kittredge of Wilton; several nieces and nephews, including Marie Legassy and her husband Stewart of South Portland; two grandnieces, Susan Kelley and her husband Chris of South Portland, and Katherine Guidi and her husband James of Shrewsbury, Mass.; two grandnephews, Todd Legassy and his wife Shayna of Miami, Fla., and Chris Legassy of South Portland; and five great-grandnieces and -nephews, Griffin, Maeve, and Garon Kelley, and Julia and Oliva Guidi. Her neighbors were very much part of who she considered family, especially Susan Whitten, Kathy and Gene Hollis, and Ken and Karen MacLeod and their children.

A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 15, 2024, at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 678 Washington Ave., Portland. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p. m. on Friday, June 14, 2024, at Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Road, South Portland. Online condolences may be expressed at http://www.hobbsfuneralhome.com. Gloria’s family and friends would like to graciously thank the staff of Harbor Hill Center and Waldo Country General Hospital for the exceptional care they provided in the last months of her life.

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