Gene Miner’s family, which included 16 children, couldn’t afford Christmas gifts.

They relied on local organizations at the time, including a new charity called the Bruce Roberts Toy Fund, to fill the space below a tree decorated with handmade ornaments.

Later, he and his wife, Beverley, became faithful annual donors to the charity, which is now called the Press Herald Toy Fund in the Spirit of Bruce Roberts.

And this year, the fund has received hundreds of dollars of donations in Gene Miner’s memory. He died Sept. 25 at the age of 83 after a battle with cancer, and it was his family’s wish that loved ones donate to the Toy Fund.

“At the funeral, people came over to me saying what a difference Gene made in their life because they didn’t always experience that type of love or attention,” Beverley Miner said.

Gene Miner was born in Newport, Vermont, in 1941 and grew up down the road from the Cabot cheese factory before his family moved to Standish near Sebago Lake. Miner was 8 years old when the Toy Fund was founded and began its annual fundraising campaigns to buy toys and books for children in need.

While Christmas was a struggle, the family was industrious and self-sufficient, his wife said. They walked to get milk from a nearby farm and cut wood to warm their home. The children did chores on the weekends, like ironing, washing the woodwork and peeling 10 pounds of potatoes for dinner. Sundays were reserved for Sunday school. Somehow, the house was always immaculate, she said.

Their mother, Della Mae, worked to support the family. She made pies at a turkey farm, worked in a blueberry facility and in the cafeteria of a local grammar school.

The children also had to work for what they wanted, like mowing neighbors’ lawns for cash to buy new school clothes, Beverley Miner said.

Some of Miner’s siblings became teachers and electricians, and one sister, Beverly Bustin, served in the Maine Senate from 1980 to 1996. Gene Miner worked as a meat department manager at Shaw’s for nearly 40 years until his retirement at 60 years old.

Gene and Beverley Miner met in high school at the Wagon Wheel Ranch in Steep Falls while roller skating. They were married for 63 years, with “no regrets,” Beverley Miner said.

The couple had two children named Laura and Rusty and their home was always open to friends and family.

Gene and Beverley made sure their family gave back, again and again.

The couple used to personally deliver toys to families in need on Christmas Eve, whatever was left over from the Christmas celebration at her workplace. Beverley remembers once running home to get presents she had wrapped for her own daughter to give to a teenager who would otherwise have nothing under the tree.

Gene Miner knew how much of a difference gifts like these could make, such as the battery-powered toy truck he got one year, she said.

“What Bruce Roberts (Toy Fund) does is very rewarding,” Beverley Miner said. “If you could see it personally, it would bring you to tears.”

TODAY’S DONATIONS:

In memory of Adrienne Harris who loved Christmas all year round.  Missing you. Love Mom and Dad   $52.91

The Ramsey Family    $250

Steve & Laurie  Steve Kazilionis    $105.52

In loving memory of Grandma Dot, from the Irish family     $105.52

Anonymous   $100

Anonymous  $52.91

In memory of George.  Mom and Dad, Jeffrey Marks    $21.35

Anonymous   $100

In memory of Uncle Dan, Gram and Gram Hurst. Love Tyler, Rachael, Emilie and Abbie             $52.91

In memory of David and Helen Getchell, Anonymous    $105.52

In memory of John and June Bowman,  Anonymous,  $105.52

Anonymous   $42.39

Happy Christmas! Anonymous    $31.87

Anonymous  $200

Anonymous  $52.91

Gary Thorne  $100

Happy Holidays! Erica Bartlett     $105.52

On behalf of our grandchildren – Thomas, Maeve, Leeds, Jasper, and Finley    $263.33

Anonymous    $105.52

Patrick O’Connor     $158.12

In memory of Mike Woodhead, Anonymous   $105.52

Anonymous  $105.52

Anonymous  $315.93

Paul Muscat   $263.33

Anonymous   $200

Lauren & Caroline Hester   $105.52

Anonymous   $105.52

John Bass    $263.33

Robert Sean McLaughlin   $20

For the joy of giving in this holiday season and to remember those we have lost. Special remembrance for George and Ann Johnson, Frank and Gert Pooler … always in our hearts!   Karen and Glen Pooler   $105.52

Good wishes for the holidays and beyond!  Anonymous    $21.35

In honor of Henry, Finley and Olivia Atwood. Merry Christmas.  Hayden Atwood   $158.12

Soley and Gallace Family    $210.73

Ruth and Hank Foundation, Ruth Brown  $210.73

TOTAL TO DATE: $32,105.37

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HOW TO HELP

To make a donation online, go to pressherald.com/toy-fund.

Checks made out to the Portland Press Herald Toy Fund may be mailed to 295 Gannett Drive, South Portland ME 04106.

Names of donors are published in the Press Herald unless a donor wishes to remain anonymous.

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