A Scottish heart, a love so vast, A great person, from first to last, Their kindness shone, a beacon bright, A guiding star, through darkest nights. They stood for truth, embraced the weak, Their love, a force, a river deep, A life of honor, compassion, and grace, Our dear friend, forever embraced. We'll celebrate the life they led, A love unbroken, a path well-tread, My dear friend, forever near, A Scottish legacy, in memory clear.
January 2025 - We are sorry to report the passing of a great friend.
Alister McReynolds was the first from Northern Ireland to reach out and contact the Maine Ulster-Scots Project when it was first conceived in 2006. He has remained a constant friend, mentor and contributor to our program and to our followers ever since. He took it on himself to come to Maine and see our Ulster heritage first hand and report to anyone interested of his findings and of our ongoing work. He established connections with many people and organizations on our behalf and was always willing to contribute his time whenever it was needed. He became a great personal friend. His knowledge was vast, his heart was kind, and his impact on those he knew was always positive.
Our deepest condolences to all his family and friends. Alister became a symbol of renewed kinship reaching across “the pond” after 300 years of separation. God’s speed good friend.
March 2024 - We are saddened by the news of Linda Bean’s passing. Linda was many things to many people. She was a champion of Maine’s hard working people, a lover of Maine’s natural environment, and an ardent researcher and admirer of her Maine ancestors. It was in her role as a family genealogist and advocate for the preservation of historic sites that brought her to become a friend and supporter of our work at MUSP.
Linda’s family history weaves itself though much of New England’s history and she was particularly inspired by the grit and determination of her Scottish and Ulster-Scots roots. The name Bean was handed down through her family from a Highland prisoner captured at the 1650-1 battles of Dunbar and Worcester. John Bean was subsequently deported to Massachusetts where he was sold into servitude. Linda’s Ulster-Scots connections can be traced back to the earliest emigration from Ulster to Maine in 1718.
We send our deep condolences to Linda’s family and to the entire State of Maine which has lost a staunch and redoubtable advocate for all that is the best of Maine.