A framed photograph of Stacy Strattard at Birchwood Brewing in Gray, where she was a co-owner. Strattard, 64, was hit and killed by a car in New Gloucester on Saturday. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)

GRAY — The memory of Stacy Strattard lives on everywhere at Birchwood Brewing.

From the soft chatter of people huddled around the bar, cupping glasses of beer and sharing stories about her, to friends stopping by with cards and floral arrangements. Sunflowers, Strattard’s favorite, brighten the dimly lit room.

Strattard, 64, was hit and killed by a car in New Gloucester on Saturday. On Thursday at the brewery, where Strattard was a co-owner, her children said it’s been overwhelming to see how many people in the community were touched by their mother’s life.

Katie Maschino, Strattard’s daughter, said people had been remarking “how awesome she was and how much they enjoyed seeing her and the hugs that they would get from her, just how she made them feel like family.”

Strattard’s children said she loved dancing, playing cribbage, watching her grandchildren’s sports games and spending time with her yellow Labrador, Blanche. One of her proudest accomplishments, her children said, was a garden she had grown with her late husband, Jim, that had blossoms in the sunflower patch taller than them.

Andrew Sanborn, 39, said his mother played basketball and softball for Gray-New Gloucester schools and had remained friends with people from her team since. Maschino, 44, said her mother also volunteered to help with the Girl Scouts, ran swimming lessons, held a brief post as a lifeguard and worked for the local schools over the years.

“She was like everybody’s mom,” Maschino said.

Katie Maschino on Thursday recalled memories of her mother Stacy Strattard. Strattard’s children, colleagues and community remember her as a positive presence in their lives. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)

Strattard was crossing Lewiston Road in New Gloucester on Saturday night when she was hit by a 2016 Ford Fusion, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said. The driver was later arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. He is accused of overstaying a tourist visa. An investigation into the accident is ongoing.

Brad Pollard, the owner of Cole Farms in Gray, said in a phone interview Thursday that Strattard had worked as a waitress at the restaurant, which his family owned, when she was a teenager. The two grew up together in Gray, and Pollard said they stayed in touch over the years. When he took over the family restaurant, she had returned to work for him a few times before opening the brewery.

“I think she always had that entrepreneurial spirit in her,” Pollard said.

Pollard said when the restaurant closed in 2020 and became a seasonal venue at Spring Meadows Golf Club, he recommended some of his employees work for Strattard at Birchwood Brewing. Pollard said Strattard was conscious of quality customer service and tended to her employees. He described her as the “captain of the ship” at the brewery.

“She was the type of manager or owner that you would want in your business,” Pollard said. “She cared.”

Sanborn, who is also co-owner of the brewery along with Wes Hewey, of Gray, said that when he and Hewey began creating a system to brew their own beer, his mother was captivated by the process. The three of them renovated part of Strattard’s barn to make room for their home brewery setup.

But Strattard’s goal, Sanborn said, was to own her own establishment.

Andrew Sanborn, of Gray, pauses on Thursday while recalling memories of his mother Stacy Strattard. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)

When the team first opened Birchwood Brewing in 2019, Strattard handled the books and clerical work. Since then, Sanborn said, she had taken on more roles, like ordering supplies and creating a welcoming environment for customers.

He said she finally saw her dream become reality when they added on the kitchen and more customers poured in. The brewery has grown every year and this year “is going to be no exception,” Sanborn said.

The brewery has served as a hub for social events and Strattard embraced all of them — from weddings to watch parties for the Little League World Series, Maschino said. No matter how big the request, Maschino said her mother would always respond with, “I’ll make it work” and “I got this.”

Birchwood Brewing in Gray on Thursday. Brewery staff will soon be wearing T-shirts with a 13 on the back — the number Stacy Strattard wore when she played basketball and softball in the Gray-New Gloucester school district. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)

Brewery staff will soon be wearing T-shirts with a 13 on the back — the number Strattard wore when she played sports in school.

Sanborn said they hope to sell the shirts in the coming weeks to create a scholarship for kids at Gray-New Gloucester schools. The scholarship money would support students who are interested in pursuing entrepreneurship after high school, Sanborn said.

“She was definitely everybody’s biggest fan,” he said about his mother. “For every bit of life … she was just cheering everyone on for everything.”