Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
AUBURN — Elvis Presley fans were excited in the summer of 1977 — he was scheduled launch a new leg of his 1977 tour at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland on Aug. 17 and 18.
But Presley, who was 42, died Aug. 16, 1977.
“It was very disappointing,” says Deanna Fickett, formerly of Mechanic Falls. She was a fan of Presley in her youth and, in her 30s in 1977, finally had tickets to see him live for the first time. She’s still sad 40 years after his death that she never had the chance to see him perform.
Presley had performed at the August Civic Center on May 24 that year, just once month before his last live concert, which was in Indiana on June 26, 1977.
Mark Prevost, resident services director of Schooner Estates Senior Living Community, where Fickett lives, said his mother had a similar reaction to Presley’s death.
“She was devastated,” he said. His mother, too, had tickets for one of the Portland shows. “I remember her going into mourning for quite a while. She was a huge fan.”
Ann McDonald, also a resident at Schooner, was living in Massachusetts when Presley died. She remembers what an enormous impact the announcement of his death had.
“Everyone was so sad because he was such an important figure in our lives.”
She said that the day it happened, “Naturally, we were all glued to the TV. That’s all we had.”
McDonald has supplied a video from her collection that residents of the senior community are watching this anniversary month. It was recorded in Memphis, Tenn., where Presley’s Graceland estate was, 15 years ago, on the 25th anniversary of his death and features many of his former backing musicians playing and singing along to videos of the King himself.
She said that many of those who live at Schooner Estates now appreciate the chance to reflect on the life and music of the legendary star. Songs from the recorded concert include the rock classic “CC Rider,” as well as Elvis’s own hits “Burning Love” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
“You just kind of melt,” when Elvis performs those iconic songs, she said.
The video screening is not the first time the King has been remembered fondly at the senior community. So well-loved is Presley among the older generation that Schooner Estates periodically books an Elvis impersonator to entertain. Don Boudreau comes once or twice a year, and always draws a crowd.
“He sings, he dances, he gives away scarves to ladies in the audience, and he takes pictures with them all after the show,” said Prevost. “The residents just love him.”
Pauline Pare, a resident and long-time Elvis fan who grew up in Lewiston, said she is a big fan of Boudrea’s performances. “I asked him for a scarf, and he gave it to me. He even signed it.”
With a mischievous twinkle in her eye, she added, “It’s hanging in my room! Oooo, baby!” Elvis is a timeless figure for many of the residents. When asked to recall memories of him on the 40th anniversary of his death, many can’t believe it’s been that many years.
Even Ken Roberts, who said he is a fan of music in general rather than Presley, said he remembered the news so well, it feels like yesterday. “I know time passes quickly, but when you say forty years, that’s frightening how long it’s been.”
PHOTO CAPTION: Elvis Presley impersonator Don Boudreau poses with Schooner Estates resident Pauline Pare in July. The residents of the Auburn facility still mourn Presley 40 years after his death, on Aug. 16, 1977. (Submitted photo)
