With profound sadness the family of Peter R. Hannah shares his passing at age 89 at Islebrook

Village in Wiscasset after a long illness at his home in New Harbor, Maine. 

Peter was born in Montreal, Canada, the son of Gerald H.P. Hannah and Edith (Webb) Hannah. From 1938 to

1950 the family lived in Morin Heights in the Laurentian Mtns. and then moved to the States

with residences in Florida and Vermont. During this time Peter learned carpentry and woodcarving

skills from his father and played high school football in Bradenton, FL and Poultney, VT.

After his high school graduation in Florida in 1955, Peter became a naturalized U.S. citizen and

entered the University of Vermont (UVM). In an interview for an article for the Burlington Free

Press his Freshman year about his “whittling his way through college” he was asked why he

chose forestry as a profession to which he responded, surely with his wide grin, “That way I’ll

always have enough wood for whittling.” As an exchange student he transferred to the

University Of Maine (UMO) his Jr. year where he joined Sigma Chi Fraternity and the track &

field team, throwing the discus, shot-put, and hammer. He sold his 51/2 inch whittled figurines

of sea captains, fishermen, skiers, hoboes, and foresters to gift shops such as Down East

Novelties and became known for his carvings sold to campus fraternities for party favors.

Following his graduation from UM he achieved a Masters Degree from the Yale University

School of Forestry.

Peter married Kay Sawyer in New Harbor, Maine in August of 1960 after which they drove

across the U.S. and Canada to the Coos Bay area of Oregon for Peter’s employment with the

Bureau of Land Management. Following six months’ service in the U.S. Army Reserves, Peter

joined the U.S. Forest Service at the Central States Forest Research Station in Bedford,

Indiana. There his focus switched to the hardwood forests he loved and he and Kay welcomed

two daughters to the family.

Peter obtained his Ph. D. at the University of Michigan which in 1967 brought him back to UVM

in Burlington, VT where he became a Professor of Forestry. A son joined the family in 1968, the

year before Peter built their family home in Shelburne, VT. During his nearly 33 years of

teaching at UVM Peter especially enjoyed advising his students and leading class field trips as

well as his research which led to numerous publications. He founded the Northern Journal of

Applied Forestry and was very active in the New England branch of the Society of American

Forestry (SAF), serving several years as its chairman and receiving a Distinguished Service

Award in 1988 for “Outstanding Contributions to the Forestry Profession.” His sabbatical

leaves from UVM took him to Harvard Forest, Ashville in NC, Germany, Central America, the

Caribbean Islands, Hawaiian Islands, New Zealand and Scotland. He returned multiple times to Scotland, homeland 

of his Hannah and McIntosh ancestors, after he retired in 1999.

Upon retirement in Bristol, ME, in the early morning before tackling his day’s projects, Peter

enjoyed paddling his canoe on the calm of Biscay Pond near the home and cabin he built

there. It can be said he met life with enthusiasm and appreciation. He, not only loved his family

and treasured his relationships with his professional colleagues and friends, but spent many

happy hours pursuing his passions, including skiing, fly-fishing, fiddling, bluegrass music, and

old cars. He also readily volunteered and took leadership roles in the former PWA land trust,

the Old Bristol Historical Society, the Congregational Church of Bristol and the United

Methodist Church in New Harbor, where he and Kay moved in 2015, particularly relishing a bit

more travel, hiking at Pemaquid Point, and sunsets over Johns Bay.

Peter was preceded in death by his sisters, Norma Ruby and Judith Shaw, his brother Duncan,

and his infant grandson Jamin Peter Trudeau. 

He leaves a loving family, his wife of 66 years, Kay Hannah of New Harbor, his daughter Leslie

Reny and husband Mike of Damariscotta, his daughter JoLynn Trudeau and husband William of

Lowell, MA, and son Ian of Westminster, CO, as well as 8 grandchildren, Keene Bartlett, Will

Bartlett and his wife Caroline, Luke Bartlett, Micah Trudeau and his wife Callie, Avanah Heath

and her husband Rogan, Natalya Kay Trudeau, Seth Trudeau, Jaydin Trudeau, and 4 greatgrandchildren,

Wesley, Indie, Hannah, and Sawyer.

The family is sincerely grateful for the caregiving and support provided by Comfort Keepers,

Islebrook Village, and Hospice.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at the United Methodist Church of New Harbor on

May 24 at 3 p.m. with a reception following. Those wishing to donate in Pete’s memory may

give to the Alzheimer’s Association, a charity of choice, or simply plant a tree.  

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