Maine marked a year of notable losses in 2025, as prominent figures from politics, business, athletics, and the arts passed away, closing chapters on careers that helped shape the state’s public life, economy, and cultural identity.
State and local government lost several longtime public servants. Jerome G. Plante, a former state legislator who later served as town manager in Old Orchard Beach, died February 8. Kathleen Watson Goodwin, who represented her district for five terms in the Maine House, died February 15 at age 84. Malachi F. Anderson, a Republican lawmaker and fixture in state politics, died June 18 at age 93. Richard Barringer, a political leader, conservation advocate, and author, died October 20.
Maine’s business community also lost influential leaders whose work reached far beyond the state. Robert A. G. Monks, a nationally recognized figure in corporate governance and shareholder rights from Cape Elizabeth, died April 29 at age 91. Thomas Francis Moser, founder of Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers and a global ambassador for Maine craftsmanship, died March 5 at age 90. John T. Leonard, the founding president and CEO of Maine Employers’ Mutual Insurance Co., died November 3. Bangor business and civic leader G. Clifton Eames died March 13, while health care executive David Landry, CEO of Spectrum Healthcare Partners, died unexpectedly October 22.
The sports world also felt the loss of several respected figures. John Huard, a Waterville native, University of Maine football standout, and College Football Hall of Famer, died January 29 in South Portland.
Veteran coach Niles Nelson, who led programs including Husson University, died February 19. John Wolfgram, the high school football coach with the most wins in Maine history, died in 2025. Wolfgram spent decades as the head coach at Thornton Academy, where he built one of the most dominant high school football programs in New England.
Hockey defenseman Guido Tenesi, who played professionally in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, died June 17.
Maine’s cultural scene also lost familiar and beloved figures. Karmo Sanders, widely known as the “Marden’s Lady” from the retailer’s commercials and a longtime performer, playwright, and educator, died in October. Singer and Broadway performer Jane Morgan, who maintained strong ties to Maine and spent years as a seasonal resident, died Aug. 4 at age 101.
Author Joseph Monninger, whose writing was closely associated with Maine’s coastal life, died January 1 at age 71. Monninger was best known for Home Waters, a critically acclaimed novel centered on endurance rowing that drew national attention and became his most widely recognized work.
Taken together, the deaths in 2025 marked the passing of a generation of leaders, builders, competitors, and creators whose influence extended across Maine’s political institutions, business landscape, athletic traditions, and cultural life.
