The Bayside community is reeling from the loss of our longtime friend, mentor, guiding light, and superhero Deborah Van Hoewyk. Deb was a powerhouse member of the BNA board of directors for over a decade and was instrumental in creating programs like the Bayside World Market & Fair, Black Frame Art Sale, summer lunches at Unity Village, funding and operating the community garden, ESOL at the Immigrant Welcome center, and so much more. While nothing will replace her wisdom and power, she helped forge a community organization that fosters and empowers new leaders, and we’re committed to continuing the work she started.
“Deborah Van Hoewyk of Portland and West Bath, Maine, passed away on August 28, 2025, following a brief illness.
Deborah was born in Barrington, Rhode Island, the daughter of Schuyler S. Sampson and Alice Mansur Sampson. Deborah moved to Cumberland, Maine, with her parents and brother as a young child and attended the Cumberland School system and graduated from The Waynflete School in Portland. She attended Wellesley College and Columbia University for her undergraduate studies and earned a Masters in English from the City University of New York.
Deborah lived in New York City for several years working as a writer and educator. It was here that she undertook the first of what would become a lifelong passion: home renovation. For a time, she lived on a barge in the Hudson River and later a houseboat in the Bronx.
Deborah moved to Michigan and with her husband, John Van Hoewyk, purchased a farm, and raised sheep, pigs, goats and an assortment of cats and dogs. At the same time, she was a lecturer in the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, teaching technical communications. She retired in 2010.
After retiring, she returned to Maine with her husband living in Portland. In the winter months they resided in Huatulco, Mexico. Later they spent summers in West Bath, Maine. As expected, all their homes just needed a “little” work, which Deborah happily took on.
Deborah had a remarkable ability to build community wherever she lived. In Mexico she volunteered for a local spay/neuter project, helped organize a major annual fund raiser supporting rural schools, and wrote and edited articles for The Eye, a local English language monthly. She loved Mexico and used her writing skills to bring the history and culture of Mexico to the English language community. Though a fluent speaker she never stopped taking Spanish lessons.
In Maine, she was a board member of the Western Maine Wellesley Club and The Bayside Neighborhood Association. She used her experience as a grant writer to support several local non-profits. At the time of her death, Deborah and several Bayside residents were developing plans for a community center that would serve, among others, the Portland immigrant community. She was also the unofficial organizer of her high school graduating classes’ monthly meet ups.
She was a strong supporter of Charlie’s Friends Dog Rescue in Woolwich, Maine. Deborah and John fostered many wonderful dogs awaiting their forever homes.
Deborah was preceded in death by her parents and brother-in-law, Jeffrey Armstrong.
She is survived by her husband of 39 years, John Van Hoewyk, her brother Schuyler S. Sampson, Jr., (Patricia), her sisters Patience Sampson (Robert) and Priscilla Armstrong and her many nieces for whom she had such fondness, Sharon, Samantha, Caroline, Juanita, Janetta, Katherine, Tabor and Schuyler as well as many great nieces and nephews.
Deborah’s family would like to thank the staff at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick for their compassionate care during her stay.
An outdoor celebration of her life will be held on Saturday October 18, 2025, from 2-4 PM at 359 Fosters Point Road, West Bath ME. Online condolence messages can be submitted at Funeral Alternatives, 46 Bath Road, Brunswick, ME 04011. (https://www.funeralalternatives.net/)
Please consider making a memorial donation to Rescue Charlie’s Friends Dog Rescue, 90 Road B, Woolwich, ME 04579 (https://rescuecharliesfriends.org/)“
