By Kristy Wagner

Staff Writer

Diana Dubea of  Kennebunk said she feels honored.

Kennebunk residents recently voted Dubea the 2011 Great Person. She was pleased to find out that her neighbors and fellow Post readers voted for her and valued her community efforts.

“It was shocking and so flattering,” Dubea said. “I love Kennebunk.” Dubea was nominated for the care and time she has dedicated to the senior residents at Huntington Common in Kennebunk.

Dubea said she has lived in Kennebunk for 25 years and moved to Maine when she was 26 years old.

“I like the people. I like the way that the local businesses help sponsor or contribute to community events. To me that makes a town united,” Dubea said. “To be recognized by people in a town you really love living in is really flattering.”

Dubea said she moved to Maine from Illinois. She is now retired.

Debbie Marathon of Kennebunk nominated Dubea for Great Person in December. The women met through mutual friends in the 1990s when Dubea ran a coffee shop in Lafayette Center.

“It was very kind of her,” Dubea said.

Marathon said Dubea deserved recognition for her contributions to others around her.

“Diana’s pretty great. She’s one of those people that quietly does things,” Marathon said. “(Dubea) does a lot of nice things for a lot of people.”

Dubea used to tell Marathon stories about her friend, Connie Roux, who lived at the Huntington Common senior living community.

“(Marathon) is a friend who has heard many a tale of my time spent with (Roux), my friend from Huntington Common who passed away,” Dubea said.

Roux died on Dec. 14.

“I know while she was there she met a lot of good people. She would say ‘You know I’ve learned so much after working with (residents with Alzheimer’s),” Marathon said. “I was just impressed by that.”

Dubea was a friend of Roux’s daughter, Sally Tartre of Kennebunk. When Roux moved to Huntington Common, Dubea said Roux’s family members wanted someone to keep her company when they could not be there. About 18 months ago, Dubea began to visit Roux, who had Alzheimer’s disease.

“(Roux) was just a wonderful soul,” Dubea said. “When she moved to Huntington Common her children were concerned about her quality of life.”

Dubea said she and Roux used to “pal around” and go on outings to lunch and sometimes to the beach.

“Debbie always heard these stories. When I saw that she had nominated me I was sure it was because of all those stories that she heard about me and (Roux),” Dubea said.

Roux wasn’t the only resident at Huntington Common who befriended Dubea. While visiting Roux, Dubea said she would talk with others in Roux’s “neighborhood.”

“When you’re (at Huntington Common), you actually visit with everyone,” Dubea said. She said she has made a few visits to Huntington Common since Roux’s death.

“I went over a couple of times to see how well everyone was doing because you fall in love with everyone there. You just want to hug them all they’re so endearing,” she said.

Dubea said that her friendship with Roux changed her life for the better.

“It was an 18-month friendship that was deeper than some of the friendships that I’ve had all my life. There’s nothing bad about those lifetime friendships, but (Roux) was more than a friend; she was a teacher,” Dubea said.

She wants to continue her visits to Huntington Common and focus on spending time with residents who have Alzheimer’s.

“I will be going back just to walk around and they can always use people to go in and just talk to somebody one-on-one,” Dubea said about her future visits.

She described the Huntington Common staff as “angels” but said it is “not possible” for them to provide quality one-on-one time with residents during the workday.

“(Elderly people) need to feel like they still matter. They still have emotions. We all want to feel like we matter, but in a business environment you cannot do a one-on-one,” Dubea said.

The former coffee shop owner and sales representative said she is happy to volunteer her time to visit with the residents.

“(Huntington Common staff) can always use people to go and visit and just hold a hand. You know when somebody’s 90 years old they’re not looking down the road, they’re looking right here and now,” she said.

Dubea’s past occupations of coffee shop owner and sales representative involved extensive social interaction.

“I genuinely like people. I just like to hear about people and their thoughts and their experiences of the world,” she said.

Helping others has been fulfilling for Dubea and she said her time with Roux has inspired her to contribute even more time to others in the future.

“You just come away feeling so good because they feel so good. That’s what we’re here for, anyway; to make each other’s journey’s a little easier,” Dubea said. “If I gave more than I took today, it was a day well lived.”

Staff writer Kristy Wagner can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.