Walt Ayre, 81

ELIOT, Maine — Walt Ayre, 81, of Eliot, died May 18, 2020 peacefully at home after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was born in Laconia, NH on December 20,1938, a son of the late Walter and Mildred (Gray) Ayre.

Walt graduated from Laconia High School and the University of New Hampshire. His first career was in textbook publishing where he started in sales in New England and later served as product manager and associate publisher for Addison-Wesley in Palo Alto, California. Walt's second career was in Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS). He was a district sales manager in Atlanta, Georgia, California regional manager, and returned to Georgia as national accounts manager.

Walt and wife Pat returned to their roots in Eliot prior to retirement to be with their grandchildren. After a triple bypass surgery, he retired fully. He was an avid skier and enjoyed meeting up regularly with ski buddies at Gunstock until he was 80. Walt could often be seen at antique auto shows with his 1964 1/2 Mustang, of which he was the proud original owner. They also enjoyed traveling south along the east coast in their Rialta each winter, visiting family and friends along the way.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was an important part of Walt's life as he was very connected through regular meetings. He credits his 35 years of sobriety for helping him to love life and appreciate family.

Walt maintained lifelong friendships and was loved by everyone he met. Walt had special connections with his brother, Al's family, extended family in Connecticut, Florida and Washington, and all the Doyon clan from the Strafford/Dover, NH area. He was a big fan of his grandsons' sports and attended as many of their activities as he could. He was "Papa" to many of the boys' friends and their families who enjoyed his stories and infectious laugh.

Walt is survived by his wife of 55 years, Patricia (Supsinkas) Ayre; brother Albert Ayre (wife Gail) of South Portland, Maine; daughters Alicia Ayre of Marietta, Georgia and Jennifer Ayre Doyon (wife of Chris Doyon) of Eliot, Maine, daughter-in-law Whitney Ayre (widow of Stephen Ayre) of Dallas, Georgia; and his beloved grandchildren, Zach and Adam Doyon of Eliot, Maine and step-grandson, Aidan Simmons of Dallas, Georgia.

In addition to his parents, Walt was pre-deceased by his son Stephen Ayre and granddaughter Jamie Marie Doyon.

A private Celebration of Life will be held at the Eliot home of Chris and Jennifer Doyon. Assistance with arrangements was by the Remick & Gendron Funeral Home, Hampton, NH. Please visit www.RemickGendron.com to view Walt's memorial website, to sign his tribute wall and for additional information.

"See you on the tour!" — Walt