Obituary of Roger Alton Sprague

Roger Alton Sprague, age 91, passed away peacefully in his home in Belfast, Maine on November 14, 2020. Roger was born in Belfast, Maine on July 2, 1929, to Emery Gay Sprague and Charlotte Ella Braley. He was the seventh of 10 children. He served in the Army Intelligence Corps in Japan after WWII. In 1964 he served in the Peace Corps in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for two years. Roger attended the University of Maine in Orono and became a high school English teacher, teaching most of his career in Fort Fairfield, Maine. He retired and returned to Belfast in the late 1990’s, never losing touch with anyone he befriended. Roger’s interests included art, music and genealogy. He obtained a Master’s Degree from the Maine College of Art in Portland so that he could teach art in addition to English in high school. He hosted weekly painting sessions with his friends. Roger was passionate about the human singing voice, taking voice lessons as a young man and later teaching voice, earning honorable mention in a Metropolitan Opera “Scouts” tour. He had a large compliment of students up until the Pandemic. Roger was also enthralled with genealogy and human connections. He was a proud member of the Mayflower Society and considered the family archivist. Every time he met a stranger the first question was, “And who are you related to?” Roger was considered the lynchpin of the Sprague family. He had no children of his own and considered all his nieces and nephews as his. Everyone loved Uncle Roger. He was kind, generous and always came up with great things to do. He was unique and quirky and very dearly loved by his family, friends and former students. Roger was predeceased by his parents, Emery and Charlotte Sprague and six of his siblings, Norma Rogers of Pittsfield, ME, Malcolm Sprague of Madison, ME, Hilda Greene of Skowhegan, ME, James Douglas Sprague of Swanville, ME, Suzanne Thompson of Belfast, ME and Hayden Sprague of Sands, NY. He is survived by Barbara Hinckley of Auburn, ME, Elizabeth Padden of Lake Wales, FL and Bruce Sprague of Zellerwood, FL, plus innumerable nieces and nephews and their families. There will be no service, per request of the deceased. The family plans to gather for a memorial after the Pandemic is resolved, in early summer 2021. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Belfast Free Library at belfastlibrary.org. Roger spent many hours researching on the genealogy floor of the library.