Portrait Archive

Scroll below to view select portraits and words of wisdom (when available) of older adult "volunteer sitters" from Maine. Portrait groupings are added on a rolling basis as new volunteers participate. Questions? Contact Tom Meuser. 

View Tom's other photography and videography on YouTube. 

Portraits Page for The Park Danforth Retirement Community (Spring-Summer 2025)

ENERGETIC

Sharman

“Earlier in my life I always thought of myself as attractive.  As I aged I still saw myself as younger than I am because I still have a lot of physical energy and an energetic personality - that is  until I looked in the mirror and all I could see was an unattractive face with wrinkles and lines and sagging eyelids and yellowing teeth.  It was hard and defeating each time I saw my face and sometimes I just don't look in the mirror.  

I am grateful though that I still have lots of energy and a sense of humor - those things haven't changed and there is a lot about those parts of me that I like.  The photos of me are beautiful and I still see that 20-something-year-old and it's OK that I am not 20 or 30 and so on.  I am 77. I embrace and am grateful to have been given this many years and I enjoy being surrounded by my peers.”

Deena - March, 2025 - Musician, Story Teller, Narrative Psychotherapist, Seeker of Truth, & so much more!

Residents of The Park Danforth Retirement Community - 2025 (VIEW ALL HERE)

2026 Portraits Below

SEEKER

“I am Steve, a retired fireman from San Francisco and now living in Maine. I loved the adrenaline rush of going to a fire or on a rescue, though I didn’t care much for the medical side of it – which, as it turns out, was most of the job. From a stubbed toe to a cardiac arrest, when someone calls 911, you just have to go.

In my youth, I was a seeker of excitement—motorcycles, surfing, and substances. I was a thrill-seeker for many years, and it made me feel alive to be close to the edge.

I got clean and sober quite a few years ago, and my life changed radically. I still love motorcycles and old trucks, but my passions now are meditation and helping others find their way to sobriety through AA.

I’m seventy-six and grateful to be alive and healthy. My philosophy is one of radical acceptance: take life as it comes and embrace it.

What I’m most proud of today is my relationship with my family – my wife and my three daughters. My kids are reasonably healthy, productive human beings, and they didn't go down the same rough roads I did.

If I had to pick a legacy, I’d hope people just say, ‘He was a good provider. He was okay.’"

January 2026

HUMANITARIAN

Dale

“I am a retired clinical social worker. My specialty was attachment-focused family therapy, working with parents, children, and adoptive families.

My husband and I moved to Maine from Georgia in 1986 with our two small children. We wanted to raise them in a progressive environment on the coast with good public schools. We also wanted to be closer to family in New York and Boston, and frankly, the South has not forgotten the Civil War.

Family has always been the center of my life. I have two adult children and four grandchildren. My son is in California, but my daughter and her family moved to Portland last year. We get to see them all the time now, and it’s such a treat. I love being a grandmother! My son and his two children live in California. Although we see them several times a year, it’s a heartache that they’re so far away. 

I’ve always felt it was important to stand up for what you believe in and for those who can’t stand up for themselves. From the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 60s to today, I feel we all must stand up for our democracy. I remember riding a bus from Ann Arbor for twelve hours to DC to march in the great anti-war protest of 1970. It is so important to me to nurture those same humanitarian values in my offspring.

Since I retired a few years ago, I’ve been working on a historical novel called Adele's Unforgettable Summer. It’s set in 1959 and is semi-autobiographical, based on my own summers visiting my grandparents in Maine. It would be very meaningful to see it published.

If I’m remembered for anything, I hope it’s as a loving person with a good sense of humor. My philosophy is the Golden Rule: be kind and unconditionally accepting of others. There’s a plaque on a bench at Willard Beach that says, 'If you were fortunate enough to live by the sea, you were fortunate enough.' I just feel very grateful for the life I've had."

January 2026