Selva Spencer Coombs Dow

Dow, Selva, 99, December 11, 2007.  Arrangements by Hobbs Funeral Home, South Portland.     Portland – Selva Spencer Coombs Dow, 99, of Portland, Maine Formerly of Augusta, Maine, died Tuesday, December 11, 2007, at St. Joseph’s Manor in Portland, Maine. Selva was born in Berwick, Maine on June 22, 1908, the daughter of Wilbur Daniel Spencer and Florence Mae Ford Whitehouse.
    During Selva's lifetime, she witnessed many historic events. 18 presidents of the United States were elected. She lived through World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War and Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the automobile, space age, radio, motion pictures, television, communications satellites, and the internet.
    Selva spent her childhood  and early years in Berwick where her father had a law practice. Following Percival Baxter's election as Governor in 1921, her father was appointed Insurance Commissioner for the state of Maine, and the family moved to Augusta from Berwick. At Cony High School, she enrolled in classical studies and graduated with honors, During the “Roaring Twenties” young women were not encouraged to attend college. After graduating from Cony in 1927, Selva married Richard Collins Coombs on September 14, 1928 in Augusta, Maine. He died in 1938   from complications with pneumonia,  and Selva was widowed with three young children, Sally, Richard, and Robert.
    Social Security had been law for only three years when her husband died and was of little assistance to Selva in supporting her three children. She took her children to live with her father on Eastern Avenue in Augusta. To support her family, Selva took a job as a switchboard operator with New England Tel. & Tel. Co. in Augusta on both the day and night shifts. As she had no car, she walked to her job in  rain and snow and fair weather. During the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, when in session, she operated the State House switchboard for the legislature. At that time, it was joked that “the Democrats held their caucus in a phone booth”.
    Selva was a loving and caring mother and daughter. Each summer she and her children spent many enjoyable weeks at her father’s camp on China Lake in South China with her sisters and brother’s families. During the war, she took her children to Old Orchard Beach from Augusta laying over in Portland's Union Station waiting for the “milk train”  that was always crowded with military personnel. Nylon stockings were in short supply, and she sent her boys to the department store to purchase as many of them allowed to each customer. As her father grew older, he became more dependent on her care requiring more of her time to attend to his needs. Adele cared for him until he returned to Berwick.
    The telephone company asked Selva to travel throughout Maine in a service and support assignment that required her to have a driver’s license. She took driving lessons and got her driver's license and did that for a time, driving made her very nervous, and she eventually returned to a desk. After she left Augusta, she never operated a car again.
    With her sons Richard and Robert away in the Air Force, she moved to South Portland to be nearer to her daughter Sally and her family. Selva transferred to the telephone company's traffic department in Portland. She met Harry Stroud Dow, and they were married in 1965 in South Portland. They first resided at Harry’s home on Alba Street, and then moved to West Kidder Street in Portland.
    While on an auto trip to Florida, Selva suffered a severe back injury in an auto accident. She also had a bout with cancer, and with radiation and chemo therapy, she was given a clean bill of health. After Harry’s death and following a fall in her home, she went to St. Joseph Manor in August, 1992. It became her home and was very happy during her 15 years at the manor where she celebrated many Mother’s Day Ice Cream Socials, Unit B barbecues and birthdays with her family and friends. She loved her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and purchased stuffed animals for them with her winnings from the Bingo games that she played daily. Selva will be sadly missed by her many resident and staff friends.
    Selva enjoyed knitting and needle point; she created many beautiful rugs and wall pieces for herself and her family. She was a Red Sox fan and followed them faithfully with her husband Harry Dow. Her lively political discussions and her passion for reading are fondly remembered. She was an active diarist faithfully recording the events in her life in her notebooks. She had an active and inquisitive mind, and could recite passages from the Bible well into her 90’s recalling pertinent details from her childhood. She was a devotee of Moxie, and it sustained her in her last days with her family. Selva was a member of North Deering Congregational Church, Portland, Maine, and was active in their “Kum Doubles” couples group. She was also a member of Retired Telephone Pioneers.
    Selva was predeceased by her parents; both husbands; her brothers, Alfred Spencer and Wilbur  Spencer; her sister, Adele Ellis; her daughter, Selva (Sally) Lavigne; her son-in-law, Carroll Lavigne; her son, Robert Coombs; and her grandson, Jonathan Richard Coombs.
    Selva is survived by her sister, Maybelle Shirley, Springvale, Maine; son, Richard Coombs and his wife Donna Coombs, Bridgton, Maine; daughter-in-law Sylvia Unglesby and her husband Charles Unglesby, Portland, Maine and Bluffton, South Carolina; granddaughter, Jayne Lavigne, South Portland, Maine; grandson, Jeffrey Lavigne and his wife, Nancy, San Juan Capistrano, California; grandson, Robert Coombs, South Portland, Maine; granddaughters, Senja St. John, Saco, Maine, Martha Coombs-Schmid and her husband Allan Schmid, Cumberland, Maine, Robyn Berry and her husband, Norman Berry, Jr. South Portland, Maine, Sarah Scott, and her husband, Jonathan Scott, Steep Falls, Maine; great-grandsons, Ethan Scott and Matthew Berry; a great-granddaughter, Abigail Scott;  and several nephews and nieces.
    A memorial service was held at 12 p.m. Tuesday, December 18th, at the Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Road, South Portland. In lieu of floral bouquets, and if so desired, contributions may be made to: St. Joseph's Manor Activity Fund, St. Joseph Manor, 1133 Washington Ave., Portland, ME 04103.
    The family wishes to express their appreciation for the wonderful care and compassion given by the staff of  Unit B at St. Joseph's Manor.