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Dexter Joihn Kamilewicz

Date of Death: February 27, 2026

Date of Birth: July 2, 1944

Biography:

Dexter J. Kamilewicz, 81, passed away on February 27, 2026 from  Alzheimer’s disease.  He was born on July 2, 1944 in Portland to Charles Kamilewicz and Arlene Cayting. He was raised on Peaks Island, Saco, and South Portland, graduating from South Portland High School in 1963.

After high school he attended Northeastern University in Boston, continuing to run track as he did in high school.  He served on several student council committees and was elected president of the student council in 1966. His second co-op job at Northeastern was with the real estate department at MIT which set him on his lifelong career of managing commercial real estate both in Boston and Portland.  

In 1967 he married his high school sweetheart, Gretchen Hahn, and they were married for almost 59 years.  Together they welcomed sons Alexander and Benjamin into the family and later adopted daughters from Brazil, Maria and Joselice.  An exchange student from Zimbabwe, Nyasha, stayed with them her senior year at North Yarmouth Academy, and she too became part of the family.

Dexter loved the outdoors, and he, along with Gretchen, would pack up the children for camping trips, hikes, canoe paddles and cross-country skiing.  After moving to Orr’s Island, Gretchen and Dexter traded in the canoe for kayaks and spent many hours paddling around Harpswell.

Dexter served on many boards during his lifetime, but he was very committed to the work of Goodwill Northern New England, serving on a number of committees and its board for many years.  In 2020 he received the Spirit of Goodwill award for his tireless work.

Dexter was predeceased by his parents and his brother-in-law Paul Svendsen.

He is survived by his wife Gretchen, and his children Alexander (Debbie), Benjamin (Sarah), Maria Bunnell (Jesse), Joselice DaSilva-Bernier (Luc), and Nyasha and seven grandchildren: Samuel and Gabriel Kamilewicz, Timothy Kamilewicz, Ava and Noah Bunnell, and Zineia and Lua DaSilva-Bernier. He is also survived by his brother and sister-in-law Charles and Joanne Kamilewicz, and many family members of the Hahn clan, including brother-in-law Paul and wife Jane, and sisters-in-law Suzanne Svendsen, Linda (Larry) Meyer and Julie (Keith) Cunningham.

The family would like to thank the staff of Fallbrook Woods and Affinity Care Hospice for their kindness to Dexter in the final year of his life.

A memorial service will be held on June 13, 2026, 10:00am, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick, 1 Middle Street, Brunswick. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Dexter’s memory to Goodwill Northern New England, Attn: Keith Crowley, 34 Hutcherson Drive, Gorham, ME 04038.