Ralph E. Longstaff

    HOULTON – Ralph Edwin Longstaff, 78, died on November 25th, 2008, in his home with his family and care givers present. He was born in Littleton on June 23, 1930, the son of Willis and Alice Atkinson Longstaff.
    Ralph graduated from Houlton High School in 1948, where he was a member of Future Farmers of America, and married Justina Clare Smith on November 17, 1950. He joined his father in the family’s farming enterprise and raised potatoes for over 25 years. He also took over ownership and management of Hogan & Smith International Harvester truck sales and service from his father-in-law Wendell Smith in 1965 and continued its operations until 1981. He had belonged to the Houlton Grange and was a member of the Methodist Church.
    Ralph was a lifetime member of the Houlton Promenaders square dance club, and enjoyed dancing, as well as collecting and restoring antique automobiles, and gathering with friends at various RV parks throughout Maine and New Brunswick. Always an avid collector, his greatest personal interest was in preserving antique agricultural machinery, farm implements, house wares, and memorabilia that best represented the region’s farming heritage through the creation of the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum.
    Ralph is survived by his loving wife of 58 years; his five children, Jill of Greene, Lorrie and her husband Jim Allen and their children, Kyleen, Ryan and Ross of Bangor, Janet and daughters, Lacey Bailey and her husband Derek, and Becca Bogan of Bangor, Brian and his wife Darlene and children, Patrick and Breanna of Houlton, and Lisa and her husband Dann Hayden and children, Haley and Lucas of Hartland; his brothers, Everett and his wife Mary of Sequim, Washington, and Clair of Houlton; and several nephews and cousins.
    Fittingly, family and friends are invited to share in a celebration of Ralph’s life held at the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum at 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 30, 2008. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum, the United Methodist Church of Houlton, or to Hospice of Aroostook, c/o Dunn Funeral Home, 11 Park Street, Houlton, ME 04730.