ACTON — Roy J. Trafton of Acton passed away May 21, 2015 at home after a short illness.
He was born in Sanford on Oct. 2, 1926, a son of Winfield C. and Dorothea (Place) Trafton of Springvale.
Roy was a 1944 graduate of Sanford High School. After high school, he served in World War II as a U.S. Navy Seaman First Class on the USS San Francisco in the Pacific.
He then obtained a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Maine and a master’s degree in manufacturing engineering from the University of Massachusetts.
During a career spanning 35 years at Honeywell Electro-Optical Systems, his successes include the guidance systems for the Apollo, Mariner Mars, ATMOS and Voyager 1 (now leaving our solar system to discover new horizons). After retiring, and 25 years in Acton, Massachusetts, Roy and his wife, Ella, returned to their roots, moving to Acton, Maine.
Over his life, he served as a Boy Scout leader, hiked the Presidential Range, canoed the Allagash and enjoyed hunting. He pursued his love of nature by creating and conserving habitats for wildlife, tree farming and volunteering as a commissioner of the Saco River Corridor Commission. He was an active volunteer on many Acton, Massachusetts and Acton, Maine town committees and was president of the historical societies for a time in both towns.
He was an avid golfer, bridge player, coin and stamp collector, and enjoyed woodworking, finish carpentry and building furniture.
He is preceded in death by: his wife, Ella (Lovejoy) Trafton after 52 years of marriage.
He is survived by: his two sisters, Evelyn Waterman and Gloria Earley; two daughters and their spouses, Martha Nicol and her husband William, and Joan Hill and her husband Mark; his son, R. Winfield Trafton; seven grandchildren, Laura, Katherine and Harrison Nicol, Michael Hill and his wife Sara, Thomas Hill, Spencer Trafton, and Khara Matcham; and one great-grandchild, Natalie White.
His quiet, strong, supporting, loving nature will be missed by all of his friends and family.
Visiting hours will be on Monday, May 25 from 6-8 p.m. at the Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home, 580 Main St., Springvale.
A funeral service will take place on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the funeral home. Burial with military honors will follow at Riverside Cemetery in Springvale.
Condolences may be expressed at www.blackfuneralhomes.com.
Those planning an expression of sympathy are asked to consider donations in his memory to www.mainerivers.org or www.mainetreefoundation.org.
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