MONMOUTH- Rebecca H. Stanley, born in Hartford, CT on October 8th,1948 to Talcott and Nina Hewitt Stanley, passed away peacefully on Friday, September 20th, 2024 surrounded by her family at her home in Monmouth.
Rebecca's greatest love was to be outdoors - cultivating abundant flower gardens, growing tender stalks of asparagus and juicy peaches, tromping through the woods in search of invasive plants, motoring around Penobscot Bay with her husband Charlie in their boat Sunrise, mowing fields with her 1958 Farmall Cub tractor, and sitting by the ocean with the sun on her face and a good book in her hand.
Rebecca graduated from Smith College in 1970, worked in DC, and went on to receive her law degree from the University of Maine School of Law in 1976, embarking on several grand adventures in between - backpacking in the Canadian Rockies and traveling around South America with her good friend Lucia. Though she worked for several years as an attorney, Rebecca left law to pursue her true passion, and in 1979 she bought her first tractor and started an organic farm in Harpswell, Maine. It was there on Mill Cove Farm that she raised sheep, grew mixed vegetables and flowers, and was the first certified organic farmer to sell produce at the Brunswick Farmers Market. During this time, she was an active member of MOFGA, was on the board of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, and embraced family life, raising two lively children, Seth and Nina.
In 1999, Rebecca decided to share her green thumb with others, and co-founded Harpswell Garden Design, a landscape design and maintenance business. After years of involvement with the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, Rebecca joined the HHLT as a trustee in 2001 and co-chaired the "Special Places Campaign" until 2003, during which time money was raised to preserve two landmark properties for the public to enjoy in perpetuity: Skolfield Shores and Johnson Field.
In 2008, Rebecca married Charles Jacobs and together they established a beautiful new home in Monmouth, where Rebecca's joint passions for land conservation and farming flourished. Flower beds, fruit trees, and vegetable gardens came to life, and Rebecca and Charlie worked hard to preserve their land, donating the Jacobs-Stanley Conservation Area to the Kennebec Land Trust in 2021. Since moving to Monmouth, Rebecca also loved singing in the community chorus, despite her self-proclaimed "so-so" voice, and fulfilled a life-long dream of learning to play the cello.
Rebecca is survived by her husband Charles Jacobs, her son Seth Murray (spouse Carla Scocchi), daughter Nina Murray (spouse Willy Leathers), step-daughter Lauren Jacobs (spouse Daniel Perkins), and three granddaughters who she held so dear: Elara, Alina, and Eliza. Also by her siblings Peter Stanley (spouse Janet Stanley), Alix Stanley (spouse Janie Stanley), and Cindy Stanley (spouse Peter VanBeckum); and by Charlie's step-sons, Skip Dyer (spouse Julie Dyer), and Rick Dyer (spouse Jane Dyer), and their children.
It is Rebecca's wish that her life be remembered joyfully. To embrace Rebecca's spirit is to sit outside in the sun, to pick a bouquet of flowers, to hum a little tune in the wind, to take a boat ride, plant a garden, swim in the ocean, pick a crisp apple and eat it under the tree, pull an errant weed from the driveway, or read a good book by the sea. Her family will miss her indomitable spirit, zest for life, gift for making magic with her grandchildren, and her loving warmth.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
Donations in Rebecca's memory may be made to the Kennebec Land Trust or Good Shepherd Food Bank.
Arrangements and guidance are in the care of Roberts Funeral Home and Cremation Care, 62 Bowdoin Street, Winthrop, Maine. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the Roberts Funeral Home website, www.khrfuneralhomes.com
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.