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Maine Antique Digest, December 2016 5-A
MILDRED FAYE SMOTHERMAN
Mildred Faye Smotherman, age 79, of
Murfreesboro, Tennessee, passed away
on October 12. She was born a daughter
of Lester Lee and Margaret Singleton.
Smotherman attended the World Out-
reach Church. She was a lifelong antiques
dealer and shop owner in Murfreesboro
and Franklin, Tennessee. She was a char-
ter member of the Murfreesboro Antique
Association, as well as the Murfreesboro
Antique Show. She was also a member
of the Woman’s Club in Murfreesboro.
Smotherman was a devoted mother and
grandmother.
She was preceded in death by her par-
ents; husband, Rex Smotherman; mother-
in-law, Bettie Lofton; and brothers, Henry
and Buford Singleton. She is survived by
her dear friend and companion, Harris
Florida; sons, Randy and Jeff Smotherman
(Cindy); granddaughters, Nicole Richard-
son (Jason), Brooke Smotherman, Sarah
Smotherman, and Andrea Smotherman;
and great-granddaughter, Sarah Brooke
Richardson; sister, Lucy Carmichael
(Jerry); and many nieces and nephews.
JAMES F. MILLER
James F. Miller, 95, died peacefully on
October 28. Jim dated his wife, Bernice,
in high school. They married after he
graduated from Purdue University, where
he earned a degree in mechanical engi-
neering. After serving in the Army Air
Corps during World War II, Jim settled in
Appleton, Wisconsin, where he and Ber-
nice raised their children.
Miller was a man of character—hard-
working, patient, honest, and reliable.
He loved his children unreservedly and
earned their respect and admiration for
his gentle goodness and unwavering sup-
port. He missed his beloved Bernice until
the day he died.
He brought the same qualities to his
career as a business manager and entre-
preneur. He was president of the Advance
Car Mover Company, an established man-
ufacturing business in Appleton begun by
his grandfather. With his brother, Walter,
he also started a successful industrial sup-
ply company, Machinery & Supplies.
The Millers collected Colonial country
antiques as an avocation and labor of love,
traveling widely in the East to build their
own collection and their highly regarded
business, Miller Antiques. They designed
and built an authentic saltbox house in
Appleton, using original bricks, plank
flooring, mantelpieces, and doors from
old houses in New England, and filled it
with the simple but elegant furniture of
their favorite period.
He could fix anything. Miller thought
nothing of building his own garage,
repairing a balky boat engine in the mid-
dle of Lake Winnebago, or teaching him-
self the fine art of antiques restoration. He
particularly loved bringing 18th-century
grandfather clocks back to life, mak-
ing their wooden works keep accurate
time, repainting their delicate faces, and
repairing the cases. Visitors to his Apple-
ton home might hear as many as a dozen
clocks strike the hour.
Miller also had a lifelong love of
powerboats. He loved music, too, and he
was an accomplished pianist who played
many of the popular tunes of the ’30s and
’40s. He assembled massive collections
of jazz and antique tools and loved spend-
ing hours in his basement shop listening
to music and working on his projects.
He won the friendship of many, thanks
to his friendly, sociable nature and his
quiet, capable, and rock-solid support of
friends in need. He retained that good
nature until the very end.
Miller was preceded in death by his
cherished wife, Bernice, and beloved
brother, Walter Jr. He is survived by his
children, Susan Mitchell (George), Jim
Miller, Jr. (Susan Ehrlich), and Kate
Boyd (Bill); grandchildren, Maggie,
Nellie, Aaron (Florence), and Sam; and
great-grandchildren, Isaac, Amita, and
Genevieve.
HOMER W. HELTER
Homer W. Helter, 72, of Naples, Flor-
ida, passed away on October 2. He was
born in Dennison, Ohio, to Adrian and Ina
Belle Helter. He retired in 1989 as vice
president of Fisher’s Big Wheel, New
Castle, Pennsylvania, and then moved to
Naples, Florida. In 1998 he opened Hel-
ter’s Antique & Military Mall. Helter
cherished veterans, friends, and, above all
else, his family.
He was predeceased by his parents.
He is survived by his high-school sweet-
heart and wife of 53 years, Diana (Crites)
Helter; son, Tim Helter (Colleen) of Ft.
Myers, Florida; daughter, Lorri Helter
Ciatto (Rick) of Clearwater, Florida; and
grandchildren, Emily Lynn and Lindsey
Marie Helter, and Hannah Nicole and
Chase William Ciatto.
Memorial donations may be made to
the Faith Lutheran Church c/o Troop Care
Packages, 4150 Goodlette-Frank Road,
Naples, FL 34103.
DR. GEORGE D. FINLAYSON
Dr. George D. Finlayson, 90, of Mans-
field, Ohio, passed away on October 14.
He was born in 1926 in Akron, Ohio, to
Hugh and Hildegarde (Waugh) Finlayson.
He enlisted in the Army near the end of
World War II, at the age of 17, fibbing to
the recruiters (because as he put it, “there
was no way I was not going to serve”).
His stint in the waning days of the war
took him to the Philippines and Japan as a
topographer. He returned to school on the
GI Bill and graduated from the University
of Missouri. He entered the Case-Western
Reserve University medical program to
follow his dream of becoming a physi-
cian. He met the love of his life, a young
nurse named Betty Walker, while attend-
ing medical school. Together they made
their way in 1957 to Mansfield, where
they raised and nurtured six children, ten
grandchildren, and nine great-grandchil-
dren. In his many years of medical prac-
tice, he was most proud of introducing
Mansfield General Hospital (OhioHealth)
to the fledgling field of echocardiography.
He treated his patients with the warmth of
a friend and his friends with the concern
of a doctor.
Finlayson was a lifelong collector and
knowledgeable antiquer, and he was well
known among national experts on Civil
War memorabilia. He and Betty were
avid collectors and ran their own antiques
business for years. George was a wonder-
ful combination of serious and silly. He
was a man willing to grow with the times,
yet his love of “snail mail” gave him deep
connections to many friends and family.
He was a loving husband, a giving father,
and a friend to many.
Having lived for nearly 60 years in
Mansfield, Finlayson had the opportunity
to see his children, grandchildren, and
great-grandchildren thrive. He had fun
names for nearly everyone, and he will
be remembered fondly for his dry, smart
sense of humor. He was known as “Poppa
Zimpelmeyer” to his great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his par-
ents; brother, Stuart Finlayson; son Paul
Finlayson; and grandson Tim Brooks. He
is survived by his wife of 63 years, Betty;
son Douglas (James Brooks); daughters,
Beth McClain (Phil), Jean Finlayson
(Larry Mandarino), Ann Marquis (Larry),
and Julia Finlayson (Randy Teets); grand-
children Kimo Wills (Natalie Wang), Dan
McClain (Heather), Megan McClain,
Susan Mandarino (Aimee Poda), Karen
Galvan (Louie), Scott Mandarino, Ste-
ven Mandarino (Jaime), Ian Marquis
and Carly Marquis; great-grandchildren,
Alexis, Lillian, Jackson, Harrison, Luke,
Lily, Michael, Abigail, and Olivia; and
dear family friend Laura Remark.
SHIRLEY BARKER BERGLUND
Shirley Barker Berglund, 94, of St.
Augustine, Florida, passed away on Octo-
ber 25 at Flagler Hospital in St. Augus-
tine. She was born in 1922 in Brockton,
Massachusetts, the daughter of Harvey
and Arlene Scranton. Berglund graduated
from the Howard Seminary for Women
in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and
attended the Vesper George School of Art
in Boston.
She married Robert Berglund in 1942
at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts, and
they had three children. Berglund began
her career as an antiques dealer and sold
antiques at shows throughout NewEngland
for many years after raising her children.
She was a wonderful cook, an avid reader,
and passionate about gardening.
After living for many years in West
Bridgewater and Kingston, Massachu-
setts, Berglund moved to Palm Beach
Gardens, Florida, in 1988 and St. Augus-
tine in 1997 to be near her family.
She was a member of the Woodland
Garden Circle and volunteered as a mas-
ter gardener for 25 years in Palm Beach
County and St. Johns County. She was
also a charter member of the St. Augus-
tine Orchid Society. Berglund was a lov-
ing mother and grandmother and will be
deeply missed.
Berglund was predeceased by her par-
ents and husband. She is survived by
her daughter, Lynne Roberts (Vincent)
of St. Augustine; sons, Peter Berglund
of Loxahatchee and Stephen Berglund
of St. Augustine; granddaughter, Sarah
Pettingell of St. Augustine; grandsons,
Benjamin and Bradley Berglund of Loxa-
hatchee; great-grandson, Miles Pettingell
of St. Augustine; and other extended fam-
ily members.
THOMAS E. BARRON JR.
Thomas E. Barron Jr., 71, of Catskill,
New York, passed away peacefully on
October 25 while surrounded by his fam-
ily. He was born in Catskill to Thomas
and Evelyn Barron, and he resided in
CLAIRE HIGGINS
Claire Higgins, 67, died on October 23,
of a malignant brain tumor, in Atlanta,
Georgia.
She was a Parisian by birth and tem-
perament, growing up within an artistic
family in Paris and Cannes, and also
Tunisia. Following her baccalaureate in
Cannes and studies in Paris, she moved
to London to begin her career in antiques.
She dealt in fine small items, becoming
known as “the Box Lady” in Barret’s
Market and Portobello Road. In 1979,
after a divorce, she returned to the Con-
tinent with her young son, Thomas. With
a stand at the Brussels “Sablon” market,
she continued to deal in boxes, candle-
sticks, papier-mâché, instruments, and
other fine European smalls. One of her
antiques customers was an entry-level
Americana dealer and later-to-be hus-
band, Michael Higgins.
Antiques in Belgium were difficult
for a single woman with a child, so she
moved to Paris, where she joined the
staff of Lalique, the famous glass firm on
Rue Royale. Fluent in three languages,
smart, knowledgeable, and charming, she
was successful. In 1986 she was chosen
to head the new Lalique boutique in the
Printemps department store on Boulevard
Haussman in Paris. It was the first bou-
tique Lalique had ever established, and
she made it work. Some days she even
outsold the primary Lalique shop on Rue
Royale, Paris.
Antiques is an incurable malady. Claire
proved this in 1989 by succumbing to
the postal blandishments of Michael and
moving this time to America to marry
him and start an antiques business. From
this point on it is impossible to write
about just “her.” Claire and Michael lived
with each other, worked with each other,
loved each other, and were seldom apart
from each other, so a narrative becomes
the counties of Greene and Columbia his
entire life. Barron attended Catskill High
School and was a member of the first
graduating class of Ulster County Com-
munity College. He served in the U.S.
Army National Guard and was trained in
riot control. He was an expert marksman.
An avid lover of photography, Barron
worked at the
Albany Times Union
as a
photo engraver and worked at the
Daily
as an advertising executive and con-
tributing photographer. It was then that he
found his love for antiques.
In 1976 Barron began his antiques busi-
ness, Uncle Sam Antiques, in Catskill.
After having several locations there, he
moved to Warren Street in Hudson and
was one of the first of four antiques deal-
ers who made Warren Street the antiques
mecca that it is today. He had an amazing
eye for antiques, built an impressive busi-
ness among the antiques community, and
made many lifelong friends along the way.
Despite never truly admitting it, Barron
was a big animal lover and spoiled his
three cats rotten, as well as any other ani-
mal that crossed his path. He was gener-
ous, kind, and a loving father. His humor,
sarcasm, and big personality will be the
source of many funny stories and fond
memories.
Donations may be made to Animal
Kind, PO Box 902, Hudson, NY 12534.