Ursula Renate Flaherty (m. Deuse) died unexpectedly in her sleep at her home in Bridgton, Maine, on Tuesday, July 19, 2022.

Ursula was born in Hofgeismar, Germany on February 20, 1950, and later moved to Wiesbaden, Germany where she met Larry Flaherty, fell in love, and then married in 1970.
They welcomed their daughter Vanessa in 1971, and then moved between the United States and Germany until 1978 when they settled in Pittsburgh, Pa., for 11 years. They subsequently moved to Massachusetts, and then eventually found their way to Bridgton, where they built a house that welcomed family and friends most weeks year-round.

Ursula worked as a physical therapist for over 50 years until 2020, and she never stood still during those years, always seeking more education and experience so her skills kept up with the needs of her patients. She was a healer who attracted the most challenging medical issues because she approached each patient with relentless patience and a curious and quick mind; she knew what she didn’t know and then did everything she could to know.

Ursula was the type of gardener who sometimes brought home the saddest looking plants so she could bring them back to health in her lush perennial and herb garden. Her gardens were always a little wild (well-weeded though) and without fussy borders or orderly rows. She delighted in the fat bumble bees and elegant monarchs who wandered her garden and the birds who built nests in her flower boxes each year.

Ursula brought a little magic to everything she touched, and her garden served as a signal, if you were paying attention, that whatever you were about to be fed at her table would be memorable. She loved the abundance of this region of Maine and appreciated the talents of the many farmers, bakers, and food creators in this area. Her greatest pleasure was a good haul at the Bridgton Farmers’ Market so she could make meals for family and friends. Recipes were a jumping off point for her, and a meal was rarely duplicated and usually the best thing that you had ever had.

While Ursula had a deep love for friends and family, she also had a ferocity born of experiencing and seeing injustice, and she became a United States citizen because she wanted to make sure that she could participate in every U.S. election going forward. Ursula had no patience for those who wanted to keep things the way they were for their own benefit and at the expense of others. She was proud to be a part of the Bridgton community, and her role on the Community Development Advisory Committee was born out of the desire to contribute. She was just as likely to be on a traffic island on Route 302 campaigning for racial justice or reproductive freedom, as she was to attend a town meeting. She was a disruptor, a creator, and an advocate who was motivated by doing what was best for the community and for those in the community who were voiceless.

Ursula leaves behind her husband Larry, her daughter Vanessa Agee (Aaron), granddaughter Arabella Agee, and countless beloved friends.

She was preceded in death by her father Herbert Deuse, mother Emma Deuse, and brother Helmut Deuse.

At the end of the day, Ursula was a charismatic and charming friend, an enthusiast yogi and artist, an encouraging mother, a smitten grandmother, and a committed partner to her husband of almost 52 years. She was complicated, authentic, unique, full of love, and singularly herself at every turn. Ursula’s death leaves behind a gaping hole in the hearts of her family, friends, and community that she might have challenged us to fill by being just a bit bolder, a bit more magical, and a bit braver in our lives every day.

A memorial will be held on Saturday, July 30, 2022, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Dragonfly Barn located at 95 Sanborns Grove Road in Bridgton, ME 04009. Anyone who knew and wants to memorialize Ursula is welcome. There will be a place to hang unframed photographs so please bring photographs of Ursula that you want to share. Comfortable and colorful dress is encouraged.

In lieu of flowers, please think about donating to the Bridgton Community Center at www. bridgtoncommunitycenter.org and Loon Echo Land Trust at www.lelt.org.