Obituary: Stephen Paige Simonds
Maine Veteran, Social‑Welfare Leader, and Adventure Enthusiast Stephen Paige Simonds Dies at 101
S.C. (Scarbrough) – Stephen Paige Simonds, a longtime advocate for social services, former U.S. Navy quartermaster, and lifelong explorer of Maine’s outdoors, died peacefully on September 3, 2026. The 101‑year‑old was 101 when he passed away at the Mooring at the Downs, a retirement community in Falmouth.
Born in 1924 in Franconia, New Hampshire, Simonds grew up in a family that valued public service. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science and earned a master’s in Social Welfare Administration in 1953. He entered the federal government in the 1960s, serving as Maine’s State Director of Social Welfare before being appointed to the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare in Washington, D.C. (1968‑1971). In 1971 he returned to Maine, directing the Human Services Development Institute at the University of Southern Maine until his retirement in 1994.
During the 1960s and ’70s, Simonds was a visible presence in Washington’s anti‑Vietnam War protests and the Poor People’s March, encouraging his children to witness the movement’s pivotal moments. Even into his nineties he championed equal access to health care, education and voting rights, and he remained an active citizen after retirement, serving on the boards of the World Affairs Council and the Partners of the Americas chapter in Maine.
A lover of the outdoors, Simonds pursued adventures that many would find improbable at his age. He spent decades sailing and kayaking along Maine’s coast, hiking the White Mountains, bicycling internationally with his family, and even skydive with his granddaughter at 91.
Simonds is survived by his three sons, Scott, Mark, and Laura Simonds‑Rumpf, who is married to Eric; Jane Laplante, married to Dan; nine grandchildren and six great‑grandchildren. He is predeceased by his wife, Judy, and his sister, Barbara Rothenburger.
Family members thanked the staff at The Mooring at the Downs for their care. In lieu of flowers, the family requested donations be made to Maine Partners of the Americas, 32 Andrews Ave., Falmouth, ME 04105. A full obituary appears online at Hope Memorial.
Simonds’s life exemplified a steadfast commitment to public service and a relentless curiosity for the world—an enduring legacy that will be remembered by his family and the communities he touched.
