Eric Paul Poulin 67, of Waterville, passed away Sunday October 4 after an extended period of poor health. Eric was born on November 15, 1958 at Sister’s Hospital in Waterville. He was the son of David J. Poulin (Fairfield/Warren), and Virginia T. Poulin (Waterville).

Eric was a happy sweet little boy, and he carried his kind and tender heart throughout his life. As a boy, he would share anything he had, and he never took the last cookie, he’d always ask if someone else wanted it. He spent some of his early childhood in California where his family lived for several years. The family returned to Maine in the early 1970’s and Eric completed his primary education in Waterville. He was especially bright, and loved to read. He graduated from Waterville High school and then went on to trade school. He attended Job Corps at Husson College and graduated with a degree in Machine Tooling. After graduating from Job Corps Eric worked as a machinist at Fisher Plow in Rockland for several years before returning to live and work in Waterville.

Eric worked a variety of jobs, and eventually became employed at Harris Bakery. He would work at Harris for several years up until they closed. It was at Harris that Eric met his “sweetie,” Linda Fairburn. They fell in love, and shared the next 30+ years together. After Harris closed, Eric began working for McDonald’s as part of their maintenance crew. The favorite part of his time at McD’s was taking his morning break and having breakfast with some of the weekday morning regulars. Eric loved to tell stories, and hear stories from others. He retired from McDonald’s after having a heart attack in 2013?

He especially loved quick wit and sarcasm, and he took every chance he had to make a wise-crack. He would strike up friendly conversation with anyone. He was a big, loud guy with a tender heart. He was hard to stay in touch with because he wasn’t good at reaching out and even worse at calling back.

Eric was an avid reader until his vision made it difficult. He loved Science Fiction/Dystopian Literature. Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimove, Ray Bradbury. He loved Star Trek, Star Wars, he loved comics – DC not Marvel. He loved Bugs Bunny, the Beatles, the Green Bay Packers and George Carlin. He was a dreamer, with a big imagination.

Eric had the special quality of being able to connect with any animal he met. He loved animals, and enjoyed watching many of the amazing animal videos on YouTube.

He was a loving son, and called his mother every day. He was a kind big brother. He was loved and will be deeply missed.

Eric is predeceased by both of his parents. He is survived by fiancé Linda Fairburn of Waterville, his sister Lauren (Poulin) Ross and brother-in-law Rick Ross, also of Waterville, and longtime friend Paul Cinq-Mars of Las Vegas. The family plans a spring 2027 interment and will notify friends and family once plans are finalized.