Blossom Mabel Lowden

  Noted events in her life were:

• Residence, 5 Apr 1930, Windsor, Kennebec, Maine, United States.

• Residence, 6 Apr 1950, Chelsea, Kennebec, Maine, United States.

• Obituary: Portland Press Herald, 7 Mar 1996, Portland, Cumberland, Maine, United States.
Blossom Mabel Lowden Monroe, 73, of Route 17, a longtime cook known for her delicious handmade doughnuts, died Tuesday at Maine Medical Center in Portland.
Mrs. Monroe was a cook for many years at Whitefield School, Somerville School and Nelson's Restaurant in Windsor. She so enjoyed cooking for children, said her daughter-in-law, Crystal Monroe, that during the summer she took cooking jobs at camps and campgrounds in Maine and Quebec.
She made doughnuts and baked beans for six years at Mike's Log Cabin, a grocery store and lunch counter on Route 27 in Wiscasset, and retired three years ago.
''She'd go down at 3 in the morning to fry doughnuts fresh every day,'' said her brother, Linwood Lowden. ''Like all cooks, she was secretive about her recipe. They were just good, old homemade doughnuts - chocolate, plain, molasses and squash.''
''Her doughnuts were the best,'' said Crystal Monroe. ''She made them for everybody and gave them away. She'd go to an auction with a bag of doughnuts. She'd give away doughnuts at my husband's construction company or at her doctor's offices or her credit union.''
''She fried some a few days before she died,'' said her brother, ''and took them down to the auction house just to pass them out.''
One of Mrs. Monroe's favorite hobbies was attending auctions, especially at Bailey's Auctions on Hunt's Meadow Road.
''She went to so many auctions (at Bailey's) they were going to hire her,'' said her daughter-in-law. ''We had a surprise 50th anniversary planned, and we didn't know how to get her there, so we told her there was an auction.''
Mrs. Monroe used to bid mainly on food, said her daughter-in-law. ''She used to be able to get a 25-bag of flour for $2.''
Among her other hobbies were crocheting afghans and sewing patchwork quilts, many of which she gave as gifts to friends and relatives.
Born in Windsor, a daughter of Clifton P. and Mildred F. Gordon Lowden, she attended Windsor and China schools, Erskine Academy at China, Freedom Academy and Gates School of Business in Augusta.
In 1945, she married Edwin O. Monroe.
During World War II, she was a turret lathe operator at Bath Iron Works. She then worked as a bookkeeper at W.T. Grant's, Sears & Roebuck and J.B. Farrell's in Augusta.
Mrs. Monroe was a member of the Weeks Mills Advent Christian Church, Jefferson Grange and Chelsea Senior Citizens.
A grandson, Pvt. John Raven, died previously.
Surviving are her husband of Whitefield; three sons, Ernest Raven of Cottageville, S.C., Dennis Raven of Delta Junction, Alaska, and Frank Monroe of Whitefield; four brothers, Clifton G. of Dexter, Ivan M. of Yellville, Ark., Linwood H. of Whitefield and Curtis C. Lowden of Gales Ferry, Conn.; seven grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Gray & Pratt Funeral Home in Windsor. The Rev. Warner Howard will officiate. Spring burial will be in Resthaven Cemetery in Windsor.

Blossom married Burleigh Erwin Raven Sr., son of Ernest Edward Raven and Ellura Belle Larrabee, on 27 Sep 1938 in Seabrook, Rockingham, New Hampshire, United States. (Burleigh Erwin Raven Sr. was born on 12 Apr 1918 in Knox, Waldo, Maine, United States, died on 27 Mar 1991 in Bradenton, Manatee, Florida, United States and was buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Freedom, Waldo, Maine, United States.)