Edna "Mae" Jellison

Kennebunk

Edna "Mae" Jellison, 79, of Kennebunk, passed away Sunday morning on May 31, 2026, at Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough.

She was born in Biddeford on November 5, 1946, a daughter of Edward and Cecilia  (Graves) Jellison. Mae graduated with honors from Kennebunk High School, class of 1965, and went on to receive her Bachelor's Degree from Portland School of Art.

Mae married her husband, George deLyra.  The couple settled in Kennebunk where they owned and operated an advertising agency.  Later in life Mae spent several years designing for Renaissance Greeting Card Company in Sanford, and Creative Advertising in Biddeford, Maine.

Mae, known for having an "Artist Eye" for color, produced countless paintings  and drawings including "egg tempera" and "Stipple" art.    Besides painting, "Mae" was an avid reader, with a particular interest in mystery novels and poetry.  She also took pleasure in planting and tending beautiful flower gardens, and loved taking walks around Kennebunk and Kennebunkport beach areas.  Dear to her heart was her cat, Pitou who will be cared for by family.

Mae was a lifelong attendee of the Kennebunk Baptist Church.

She will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved her.

Mae was predeceased by her husband, George deLyra, and by her two step-sons, Geoffrey deLyra and Michael deLyra.

She is survived by her sister, Betsy Knight and husband Dick; by her brother, John Jellison; by her step-daughter, Martha deLyra Barker, who she had a special relationship with.

A private memorial service will take place later this summer.

A Long, Long Walk

All in the merry month of May when green buds they were swellin', so goes the English Ballard. It was May and I was temping while looking for a full time job and given an assignment at a printing firm in Saco as head cook and chief bottle washer when I met Ed. She was bent over a drawing table, long flowing white hair and repido pen in one hand and a T-Square in the other. We said Hi. Thus began our journey.

And so it went with small unintrusive talk. We as humans form barriers around ourselves for protection, and only after a considerable amount of time do we allow anyone in. Eventually the talk turned into conversations and as they say - the negotiations were on the way. These events took the form of walking and talking, but mind you these excursion where not without escort. There before me was a short legged, long bodied, chocolate colored Dachshund named Zebo, who had the penchant of giving me the eye. Ed loved her Dachshund.

As time progressed we reveal ourselves to each other. Ed's first failed marriage and mine. I let her know that I had two sons, Wesley and Elliot, which further deepened the conversation. And she told me about her step children from her first marriage. We were beginning to reveal more and more, trusting each other.

And so as all negotiations must eventually conclude one way or another, we on May 26, 1984, with a justice of the peace, married. And so began our new life, and with baggage left behind, forward we went.

We set up house and progressed to improve the living conditions and make our life together more comfortable and happy. We traveled, went on short trips, enjoyed cook outs with family and in general were happy with each other. Ed loved to go camping which we did many times, and in fact she loved it so much that we spent a day or two with the black flies at Katahdin National Park.

As we aged we settled to a less busy and more reflective life. But destiny had other plans as Dementia took hold of Ed. The evils of her upbringing resurfaced and Ed was no longer the women I married, she had changed and it affected both our lives. I was denied being with her when she walked out the back door leaving it slight ajar, knowing that someone would eventually follow. And I know in my bones that when I walk thru, that DOG will give me the eye, and Ed and I will go for a long, long walk.

Ed leaves behind a husband of 42yrs and 5 days, stepchildren Wesley and Elliot, daughters in-law Krista and Jeannie, and grandchildren Simone, Chance, Lillie and Logan.

Leo A. Martel May 26, 1984 - May 31, 2026