Perleston L. “Bub” Pert of Topsham died on August 27 at the Maine Veterans Home in Scarborough.

He was born in Bath on January 25, 1931, the son of Perleston L., Sr., and Katherine White Pert.

He attended Bath schools, graduating from Morse High School in the Class of 1948. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism in 1953 from the University of Maine at Orono, where he was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity.

Commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Infantry upon graduation from the University of Maine, Bub served on active duty at Fort Benning, Georgia, and Fort Dix, New Jersey, between 1954 and 1956, attaining the rank of First Lieutenant.

In 1958, he married Jacqueline E. Snipe of Topsham.

From 1953 to 1967 – with time out for military service – Bub pursued a career in journalism as a news editor (1953-59) at WGAN radio and television in Portland, editor (1959-61) of the weekly newspaper Boothbay Register in Boothbay Harbor, and feature writer/photographer (1961-67) for the Portland (now Maine) Sunday Telegram based in Waterville and covering central Maine.

While with the Gannett newspapers he was awarded a gold press card award for producing a photo page on Revere bells in Maine, finding a total of 23, contrary to published reports that only a dozen or so existed in the state. He later authored an expanded article on Maine’s Revere bells published in the January 1971 issue of Down East Magazine under the pseudonym J. J. Lincoln.

In 1967, he was the first person to be appointed public information officer for the Maine State Police and held the same position with the Maine Department of Public Safety after the State Police merged into that agency in 1971. During this period he compiled statutory and organizational histories of the Maine State Police, detailing the development of barracks buildings, a statewide police radio network and a training academy. All of these compilations are now housed in the Maine State Library.

From 1974 to 1990, he served as director of public information for the Maine Department of Education under six commissioners. Bub produced the education newsletter – Maine Insight – which won several awards for excellence in national competition.

He retired in August of 1994 after four years as manager/treasurer of the Sagadahoc Real Estate Association in Bath. He was intensely interested in Maine history, particularly relating to Bath and the Kennebec River region. In 1995, Bub authored A Summary History of Bath, Maine 1850 to 1990 which was first printed by the city’s comprehensive plan core committee. He was a charter member of the Bath Historical Society, organized in 1989, and served as a trustee and as secretary. On a volunteer basis during the Society’s first five years, he designed and produced nine newsletters annually. During his retirement until 1996 he continued to produce “The Times of Bath, Me” — a three times a year publication focusing on changes to the U. S. Route 1 corridor through Bath, landmark buildings and personalities. Bub's favorite research topic was the history of Fort Halifax, the colonial fort built in Winslow in 1754. In 1999, he completed a manuscript on the history and garrisoning of the fort between 1754 and 1767, of which he was justifiably proud.

Bub collected and enjoyed books on the French and Indian War period and particularly enjoyed a large collection of jazz recordings of the swing band era. Often when someone walked into the living room, there would be Bub, headphones on and eyes closed, lost in the music. When his family was young he enjoyed taking them on camping trips to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. For years he was a big basketball fan and avidly followed the Celtics, only in later years to switch his alliance to football and the Patriots. He had a great sense of humor, and loved "torturing" his kids every year on the first day of school, adding a burden to their already queasy stomachs by making French toast.

Bub is predeceased by his sister, Eunice Dow of Pittston.

Besides his wife Jacqueline of Westbrook, he leaves two daughters, Judith of Roslindale, Mass. and Jennifer Russo of Portland; two sons, Jeffrey of Brunswick and Jonathan of Westbrook; two sisters, Jacqueline M. Fossett of Cumberland Center and Catherine E. Biette of Brunswick; and a brother, Edwin H. Pert of Georgetown.

Bub's family wishes to extend much gratitude to the staff of the Scarborough Maine Veterans Home for taking such good care of their husband and father, especially the girls of A Unit.

Visiting hours were to be held on August 29 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the David E. Desmond & Son Funeral Home, 638 High Street in Bath. A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 30 at Oak Grove Cemetery in Bath.

For those who wish, donations may be made in Bub's memory to the Bath Historical Society, 33 Summer Street, Bath, Maine 04530 or The Maine Chapter, Alzheimer's Association, 383 U. S. Route One, Suite 2 C, Scarborough, Maine 04074.

To share your thoughts and condolences with the family, visit www.desmondfuneralhomes.com.