Elwin F. Hussey

WINDSOR – Elwin F. Hussey, 100, died peacefully at home on Dec. 9, 2023, after a short illness. The only child of Harland and Mildred (Shuman) Hussey, he was born in 1923, the same year his parents started their new business, Hussey’s General Store.

He grew up around the store and on his grandparents farm just down the road, attended Windsor Corner one-room schoolhouse, graduated from Erskine Academy in 1940 and from Colby College in 1944. He served in the Navy during World War II as an aviation electronics technician. After the war he returned home to the family business. He earned his pilot’s license and owned his own small plane for several years, taking off and landing in local pastures and touring up and down the Atlantic coast. In 1954 he married Shirley Avery, and he and his parents undertook a major expansion of their store to it’s present three-story location with many departments including radios, televisions and modern appliances.

Elwin and Shirley first traveled to Hawaii in the early 1960’s. which began decades of wintering on the Big Island where they welcomed many friends and relatives over the years. He enjoyed tending his orange orchard there and making fresh-squeezed orange juice for every breakfast.

Elwin was an avid collector of 78 rpm records, phonographs and radios. He also bought, sold and collected books, especially books about Maine and by Maine authors, and books about military and war history. He did much research on Windsor history and genealogy of his ancestors and other local families.

He was predeceased by by his wife Shirley (2012). He is survived by his three children, Roxanne Hussey of Windsor, Rebecca Hussey of Malibu, Calif., and Jay Hussey of Windsor; three grandchilden, Kristen Ballentyne (husband Andrew) of Windsor, Jesse Reinherz (wife Jessica) of Juno Beach, Fla. and Anna Reinherz of New York City; and two great-grandchildren, Olivia Austin and Adeline Ballantyne, both of Windsor.

A graveside service will be held in the spring of 2024.