ESTES, WILBUR L.

LEWISTON – Wilbur L. Estes of Auburn, died Oct. 31 [2008], at Central Maine Medical Center.

He was born Dec. 5, 1918, and was predeceased by his second wife, the former Pearle Kimball Wilson. There were no children.

He was a pre-World War II resident of Auburn and a long-time resident of Connecticut. He was educated in Auburn, graduating from Edward Little High School in 1937.

He was a veteran of WWII’s South Pacific Campaign, a rifleman in the Third Marine Raider Battalion. He was a member of the AF and AM Tranquil 29, Auburn and Kora Temple in Lewiston.

He was an employee of Pratt and Whitney Aircraft in North Haven, Conn., and developed Green Acres Park Inc. in Westbrook, Conn. He was an elected member of the Westbrook planning commission and regional chairman of the governor’s task force on housing. He was an Elk.

An avid hunter and fisherman, after his retirement to Rumford Point, he enjoyed hunting and fishing in that region. He “wintered” in Florida, and became an adept shuffleboard player, winning several national and Florida titles in both doubles and singles.

He wrote the popular shuffleboard book “Modular Shuffleboard,” which examined the “modular system,” a system that he developed. He later published it on CD. He was well known as “The Guy Who Wrote the Book.” He wrote for a section (Wilbur’s Page) of the widely read web site “The Shuffler.” He was inducted into the Florida Shuffleboard Association’s Hall of Fame this year.

Surviving is his longtime companion, his first wife, Glenna Urquhart Davis of Auburn and Lakeland, Fla.