HARPSWELL – Meredith T. Wnek of Harpswell passed away on Friday Feb. 17, 2023, after a brave over four year battle with ovarian cancer.

Meredith was born on April 2, 1951, the daughter of Thomas and Ethel Taylor.and grew up in Cumberland, Rhode Island. She has one surviving sibling, a brother Thomas Taylor of Merrimack, NH. She was a 1969 graduate of Cumberland High School and attended University of Rhode Island.

On June 17, 1972 she married her husband of over 50 years, Ensign Francis M Wnek. For the next 14 years the couple made numerous moves during Frank’s naval active duty, including assignments in Newport, RI, Norfolk, Va., Pensacola, Fla., Brunswick, Maine (1975 – 1978), Monterrey, Calif., Barbers Point, Hawaii and Washington, DC.

In 1987 they returned to Maine, building their dream home on land they had purchased in 1978 upon leaving Maine on High Head in Harpswell. They have two sons, Christopher and spouse Cate also of Harpswell, and Andrew (Drew) and spouse Christina of Cumberland, Meredith’s grandchildren are Tucker and Finn (sons of Chris and Cate) and Amelia and Audrey (daughters of Drew and Christina).

Meredith had worked for Macys of California in Monterrey and for Navy Relief, a base gift shop while at NAS Barbers Point in Hawaii, and for a frame shop while they lived in Virginia. On returning to Maine she was hired by LL Bean, starting out as a store clerk in the Home Camp department and then becoming a Home Camp buyer. She retired from LL Bean in 2007 after almost 30 years with the company.

While in Hawaii she had taken up tennis, which became her passion. She continued playing for many years at Maine Pines Racket Club in Brunswick, where she played both locally and as part of a travel team. In her later years she enjoyed watching professional tennis tournaments with an equal passion. American Airlines pilot and husband Frank had taken her along on trips to London, which gave them the opportunity to attend a day of the Wimbledon tournament. They had also attended the Tennis Hall of Fame event in Newport on several occasions.

Having learned to sew and knit from her Mom at an early age, Meredith was an accomplished seamstress and knitter, especially after her retirement from LL Bean. She sold some of her items at local craft fairs, and was seemingly ALWAYS knitting a sweater or sewing a baby blanket for the newborns of family members and friends.

In her later years, what gave Meredith the most happiness was just having her family around her. For many years she hosted Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for the family and Christmas parties for neighbors and the families of her sons friends. She was also an accomplished baker, and loved to spend time in her domain—her kitchen. She was well known for her numerous delicious cookies and famous double chocolate brownies.

A Funeral / Memorial Service will be held Wednesday, March 8 at 11 a.m. at St Paul’s Episcopal Church on Pleasant St in Brunswick.

Arrangements are by Stetson’s Funeral Home, 12 Federal Street, Brunswick, where condolences, memories and photos may be shared with the family at http://www.stetsons

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers a

donation be made in Meredith’s memory to:

CHANS Home Health and Hospice in Brunswick