Title	Mr.
Last Name	Salley
First Name	John
Middle Name	Merrill
Maiden Name
Nick Name
Place of Birth	Atkinson, ME
Date of Birth	1931-04-06
Place of Death	Dexter, ME
Date of Death	2022-01-29
Publication	BDN 2022-02-01
Obituary	DEXTER - John Merrill Salley (90 years 9 months and 23 days) passed away Saturday, January 29, 2022, during a Nor'easter snowstorm, after a period of declining health. John was born on April 6, 1931, in Atkinson, Maine. The 7th child of Harry and Ila (Merrill) Salley. After a few years the family moved to River Street in Dover-Foxcroft. He also lived and worked on the "Happy" Robinson farm on the now Shamrock Road in Dover-Foxcroft. He graduated from Foxcroft Academy in 1951. He was proud to tell that his was the last class to graduate from the "Old Academy," and that he was a member of the first Driver's Ed. Class from Foxcroft Academy. He served his country in the U.S. Army in Korea from 1952 to 1954, being discharged as a Sergeant. Returning to Dover-Foxcroft, he lived with his sister, Harriet and her husband, Charles Moen. He worked for Koritsky's Department Stores in Dover-Foxcroft and Dexter. In 1958 he married Elaine Mayo of Dexter, who predeceased him in 2007 after 49-1/2 years of marriage. In 1959 he went to work for the Dexter Shoe Company as the company's purchasing agent. In 1969 he took a job as superintendent with Dexter Water Works, now Dexter Utility District. John worked with the Utility District for over 20 years. He owned Dexter Flooring Shop for several years and was the Sexton for the Town of Dexter's cemeteries for several seasons. John retired in 1996 and kept busy for several years doing handyman work, making wooden replicas of trucks and equipment (which was a longtime hobby), and sprucing up the camp on Wassookeag Lake. He served 2 terms as a board member for the Dexter Utility District, served as a member of the Dexter Lakes Association and Dexter Conservation Commission. After 57 years on Park Street he moved to Corrundal Commons in Corinna. Here he enjoyed letting someone else mow the lawn and shovel snow as well as watching the dairy farm across Corrundal Lake and the fisherman at the dam at the outlet. He also enjoyed driving around and watching the construction projects, fields, and farmers. Due to declining health he relocated to Main Street West in Dover-Foxcroft in 2020. After a year and a half he moved back to Dexter and lived Roger and Kathy. In addition to his wife, he was predeceased by his brothers, Amasa and James; and sisters, Phyllis, Margaret, and Laura; and his longtime friend, Betty Tremblay. John is survived by his only son, Roger and his longtime girlfriend, Kathy Leavitt, whom he loved as a daughter and was his devoted, dedicated, and fierce caregiver, of Dexter; Kathy's sons, Frank Pellerin and Amy Estes of Fairfield, and Richard and Shelby Pellerin, who bought and live in John and Elaine's house on Park Street in Dexter, and their boys, Richie and Grady; his sisters, Harriet Moen and Lois Farr of Dover-Foxcroft; many nieces and nephews. A big thank you to Shelby Pellerin, Denise Dinsmore, Denise Webb, Dexter Public Health Association, Barbara Atkinson and Piscataquis County Health Care Hospice for their advice, compassion, hands on approach, and help for us in caring for Dad. Donations in John's memory may be made to Dexter Fire Fighters' Association LaFrance Account, 148 Ellms Road, Ripley, ME 04930 or to Dexter Public Health Association, 23 Main Street, Dexter, ME 04930. Memorial services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, February 12, at Crosby & Neal Funeral Home, 61 Main Street, Dexter. Friends may call from noon until the time of the service. Spring burial will be in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Dexter. Those who wish may leave written tributes at CrosbyNeal.com. Published on February 1, 2022