Nancy King

Nancy Jean (Tilden) King, 80, passed away peacefully on September 18, 2023, following an eight- year battle with Alzheimer's disease. Throughout her life, she was a pioneering business woman and community leader in Eastern Maine. Her family is deeply saddened by her passing.

Nancy was born on August 4th, 1943 in Hartford Connecticut. She was the daughter of Jasper L. Tilden and Alice G. Tilden (nee' Jones) of Ellsworth, ME, and the younger sister of Elizabeth T. Meeks, (nee' Tilden).

A 1961 graduate of Ellsworth High School, Nancy went on to graduate from both Chamberlain College (now Emerson College) in Boston, MA and Husson College in Bangor, ME. She majored in women's fashion, and business and marketing. In her early years, Nancy was active in dance, theater, fashion, beauty products, pageants, and cheerleading. In 1961 she was voted nationally as "Miss Clearasil" and appeared in tens of thousands of national magazine advertisements representing the famous skin product.

In 1966 Nancy took a job with WLBZ television in Bangor, ME and became a top sales person in a predominantly male dominated (and quite new) television advertising industry. She and her boss, Margo Cobb, were well ahead of their time, competing throughout the mid-60's with their male counterparts in an era in which they were not allowed to join men's business organizations --which hindered their networking prospects. When they gave birth to their children these women were allowed a mere two weeks maternity leave, and were told that if they did not return in two weeks their jobs would be dissolved without pay. Yet they both persevered as stellar producers. Clearly, there was much less gender equality in the workplace in those days, and Nancy was one of the pioneering women who made it evident that women could and would hold their own in the workplace.
It was during this time that Nancy met Raymond G. Hawkins of Lufkin TX, who was stationed at the Winter Harbor Navy Base in Winter Harbor, ME. The couple married in 1967 and had a son, Troy Arthur Hawkins.
Nancy was married to her second husband Benjamin D. Adams of Lincoln MA from 1973 to 1993. The couple resided briefly in Lincoln and Burlington, MA but settled back in the Down East area to help Nancy's parents.
In the mid-1970's, Nancy took up the entrepreneurial spirit of both of her parents, and became involved in running their businesses: Jasper's Restaurant and Motel, which her father founded in 1957 and was a local institution for 60 years, and Alice's Fashions, her mother's popular women's clothing store. An excellent marketer, Nancy helped grow and improve these businesses to their peak prominence during her 22-year, reign in charge.

During the 1980's, in addition to running the two business, Nancy was busy lending her leadership skills to a number of activities that benefited the community and brought her joy. She coached the Ellsworth Jr. High and Jr. Varsity high school cheerleading squads, and she ran and directed multiple beauty pageants in Eastern Maine. Many of her contestants either won Miss Maine titles or placed in the top three. Nancy created special bonds and friendships with many Miss Maine title winners and contestants from all parts of the state. Her cheerleading squads won and placed in multiple competitions over her coaching years. Nancy said that "coaching was her favorite leadership role ever and that her girls were like the daughters she never had."

Additionally, she also served in the 80's on the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors where she helped to create and found the Autumn Gold Celebration which is still celebrated in the Ellsworth area today, and also helped create the Chamber of Commerce "Top Drawer Award", which to this day still honors local business owners for their outstanding contributions to the local economy. She also helped co-found the MDI Yacht Club which still runs strong today with many happy members. Her close boating friends became some of her very best friends for the rest of her life.

In the mid 1990's Nancy met Lawrence King of Bar Harbor and Ellsworth, ME. The two founded LANA Corporation. Together they developed land and housing projects in the Blue Hill, Ellsworth, and Trenton areas. Their developments created the current location of Darlings RAM auto mall and Jackson Laboratory (originally Lowes) and the current top of the hill Dunkin Donuts in Ellsworth. Nancy and Larry were married from 1995 until his death in 2016.

Unfortunately, in 2017 Nancy was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. She was cared for by her son Troy and his son Jackson, along with an amazing team of loving caregivers and friends. Nancy's family thanks each and every one of her caregivers for the love, help, and moral support that they gave to Nancy.

Nancy would want a special remembrance to all of her childhood, school, business, cheering, beauty pageant, and boating friends, of which there are just too many to mention by name.

In addition to her only child, Troy Arthur Hawkins Adams of Trenton, Maine, and her grandson Jackson Ray Hawkins of Ellsworth, Nancy is survived by her sister Elizabeth Tilden Meeks of Homosassa, FL, and her nephews Michael Meeks and Mark Meeks of Columbus OH, and Minneapolis, MN.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held 2:00 PM, Saturday, October 14, 2023, at the First Congregational Church UCC, 2 Church Street, Ellsworth. In lieu of flowers, gifts in Nancy’s memory may be made to the Josephine and John Marr Alzheimer’s Research Fund at Brigham and Women’s, 263 Huntington Ave. #318, Boston, MA 02115-4506. Condolences to the family may be expressed at BrookingsSmith.com.