Obituary of Ralph E. Hamel

Ralph “Buzzy” Hamel, Jr. passed away Tuesday Aug. 28, 2018 at EMMC. He was born October 1, 1936, in Bangor, Maine. He attended the Bangor school system as a young man where he first met his partner of 34 years in the seventh grade. They would go their separate ways for a number of years before reconnecting later in life. He lived in Brownville and Houlton before joining the Marines in 1953. He was proud to be a Marine, and always spoke fondly of his time traveling overseas--especially Naples, Italy which he loved. Upon his discharge, he returned to Bangor where he worked for the City for several years. His favorite job, however, was driving truck for HO Bouchard. He was proud to say he had never been in an accident. A long-time resident of Hermon, Buzzy’s pride and joy was his home on the Billings Road. He loved taking care of it, particularly building rock walls, putting in white rail fences, keeping up the farm pond in the middle of the pasture where he had placed a boat, and mowing his lawn. If you went by any day you could probably see him on his tractor wearing his straw hat (provided that his granddaughters didn't sneak off with the tractor and get it stuck in the mud).

He loved trail riding horses, NASCAR, the Giants, and the Patriots, though never knew what channel they were on--which gave him a good excuse to call his beloved daughter-in-law, Tammy. If you were a Hermon resident, you may also have seen him keeping the gate at the Los Amigos horse shows, or watching his granddaughter Shannon play softball. He enjoyed having his grandchildren, “those creepy kids,” over to play in the pool in the backyard, and he took great care of it for them. He also drove many of them to school every day, arriving early to put the pressure on, but returning if one of them forgot her flute (again). He loved to visit his brother, Raymond, and his family down south. Some of his favorite memories involved having them come to visit him in Maine in return. Buzzy and Raymond are surely catching up in heaven right now, and while our hearts are heavy, we are happy to know that they are together again. We would like to thank the staff of the Maine Veteran’s Home, Unit E, for taking such good care of him this past year. They are caring and wonderful people.

Buzzy is survived by the love of his life, Ann Bishop. He had seven children with his first wife, Theresa Tracy: Dennis, Kathy, Shawn, Caroline, Tammy, Terry and Scott. He is survived by his brother and sister, Dennis and Levola, as well as many special nieces and nephews. He was loved most fiercely by Ann’s children and grandchildren, many of whom were with him at the time of his passing. As his granddaughter’s husband said, he passed with honor and dignity after living a good long life.

Per Buzzy’s wishes, no funeral service will be held. Friends may call at the Hermon Ambulance Building on the Billings Road on Wednesday, September 5, 2018 from 5:30 to 7:30. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made IMO to Maine Veteran’s Home, 44 Hogan Road, Bangor 04401 or to the Alzheimer’s Association, Maine Chapter at alz.org. Let’s find a cure.