Pollie (Thompson) Frothingham, of Scarborough, Maine died on Monday, September 21, 2020.
She was born on April 22, 1931 in Boston, Massachusetts, the middle child of Richard L. and Pollie (Pierce) Thompson. Her early years were spent in Concord, New Hampshire, with summers along the shore in Rye Beach, NH. She graduated from Winsor School in Boston in 1950, and after a year at Briarcliff College transferred to The Museum School in Boston, graduating in 1955. She worked at F.A.O. Schwartz in Boston, then The Women’s Industrial Union.
Pollie and William B. (Bainy) Frothingham married in 1956, and after living in Boston for a year moved to Manchester, Massachusetts, where they raised their two children: Bill and Amy.
Pollie, as a wonderful mother and wife, enjoyed cooking for guests and was an able athlete who skied in the winter and played golf and tennis in the summer. She was an accomplished gardener who grew both delicious vegetables and beautiful flowers, and a stalwart member of the North Shore Garden Club. In May, 2006 she received the prestigious Rosie Jones Award from the Garden Club of America for a perfect four-blossom amaryllis.
In 1971 Pollie and her dear friend, Sue Thorne, started a needlepoint business named “The Busy Bee”. Pollie, eager to put her artistic talents to work, painted the needlepoint canvases while Sue handled the finances and paperwork. Together, they created a flourishing business that spanned more than 22 years. In the mid-1990s, after Bainy had retired from the commercial real estate business, Pollie and Bainy travelled throughout Europe and Great Britain, including cruises on the Rhine, Danube, Seine, and Po rivers.
In May, 2010, they moved to Piper Shores, a retirement community in Scarborough, Maine to be near their daughter, Amy, son-in-law, Whit and grandchildren, Ben and Hal. Pollie expanded the gardens outside of their apartment to include a vast array of spring bulbs, roses and annuals. Each spring the gardens surrounding their apartment are awash with vibrant yellows from hundreds of daffodils.
Pollie valued the many dear friends she had over the course of her lifetime. Her family wishes to thank the staff at Piper Shores for their incredible devotion to Pollie over the years. In lieu of flowers, donations in Pollie’s memory may be made payable to “Piper Shores Employee Holiday Fund”, and sent to 15 Piper Road, Scarborough, ME 04074
Hobbs