Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village: June Carpenter dies at 88

Sister June Carpenter died Tuesday at the age of 88. She was a longtime member of the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester, Maine. The village is the final active community of the Shaker religious movement.

Carpenter had been dealing with health issues and limited mobility prior to her death, according to a village announcement. She joined the community in 1989 after visiting in 1988 to help organize the library catalog.

Before entering the village, Carpenter was a trained librarian. She earned a master's degree in library sciences from Simmons College and worked in the field professionally. She was born in Boston. Her primary contribution at Sabbathday Lake was organizing and cataloging the village's extensive historical records.

The village stated that her work made the archives more accessible to researchers. This effort ensured the Shakers' legacy could be studied for future generations. David Richards, the village curator, recalled her early visit. He said, "If the meek are to inherit the earth then she will get the whole thing."

Carpenter was one of two longtime members of the community alongside Brother Arnold Hadd. The group grew slightly with the arrival of Sister April Baxter last year. A novice named Mac Imes also joined the community earlier this year.

The Shakers are a celibate Christian group that split from the Quakers in the late 1700s. Mother Ann Lee, an English immigrant, founded the movement. Thousands of adherents lived in communities across the United States by the early 1800s. Their numbers declined after the Civil War, leaving only a small group at Sabbathday Lake today.

Carpenter also tended to the village gardens and cared for the local birds and cats. She visited other Shakers who were residents of nursing homes. The village described her as dedicated to the Shaker way of life and kind to all living things.