Service Announcement
ROCKLAND – A graveside service for Wilma Frances Leonard Nagorniuk, 77, who went to be with the Lord on December 24, 2022, will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 30, 2023, at Oak Hill Cemetery on Hosmer Pond Road in Camden. Following the service, a reception will be held at Lakeview Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 188 Rockland Street, Rockport.
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Wilma Frances Leonard Nagorniuk, after a period of declining health, left this world unexpectedly on December 24, 2022 and is now “forever with the Lord, where disappointment, grief, and fear are gone, sorrow forgot, loves purest joys restored.”
Born in Camden, Maine, on September 25, 1945, Wilma was the daughter of Frank and Hallie Leonard. She graduated from Glen Cove Christian Academy in 1963 and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bob Jones University in 1967. She began teaching in Wheaton, Illinois and continued her career as a special education teacher for more than forty years at Emerson Connors elementary school in Bar Harbor, Maine and later in the Lake Region Schools in Bridgton, Maine.
Wilma was a consummate professional who loved and advocated for each of her students. One of several formal accolades summed up her career as follows: “You handled your duties with measurable professionalism and marked enthusiasm. You are a great asset to this district.”
After the death of her husband, Peter Dimitri Nagorniuk, Wilma retired from teaching and moved back to Midcoast Maine to be close to family. For the past several years she resided at the Methodist Conference Home in Rockland where she shared her warm heart, one-of-a-kind laugh, and added many names to her long list of friends.
Wilma was an outstanding athlete who excelled in team sports, horsemanship, and aquatics. In fact, her first teaching opportunity was as a Red Cross Water Safety Instructor. She was also an avid reader.
Both as a teacher and as a resident of a senior living complex, she was always sensitive to the needs of others and in her quiet way sought to help wherever she could. This trait emanated from her faith in Christ and the example of her parents.
Wilma was predeceased by her son, Scott Phelps, her husband, Peter Nagorniuk, and her parents, Frank and Hallie Leonard. She is survived by her brother, Bill Leonard of Thomaston; stepsons, Mark Nagorniuk and his wife Kim of Old Lyme, Connecticut, Derek Nagorniuk of Portland; daughter-in-law, Margie Phelps of Southwest Harbor; five grandchildren, Megan, Jonathan, Sarah, and Andrew Phelps, and Taylar Medeiros; several nieces, nephews, cousins, and a wide circle of friends.
A graveside memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on June 30, 2023 at Oak Hill Cemetery in Camden, Maine.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Camper Scholarship Fund, Fair Haven Camps, 81 West Fairhaven Lane, Brooks, Maine 04921
Those who would like to share a condolence or memory with Wilma’s family may do at their Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com
Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter and Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland