Archive - May 2008 - Obituaries

Howard A. Wright Sr.

BRISTOL — Howard A. Wright Sr., 80, died Monday, May 26, 2008, at his home in Bristol. He was born Feb. 29, 1928, in Hinesburg, the son of Alfred and Mary Pierce Wright.

He is survived by his special friend of 11 years, Pamela Whittemore of Bristol; his four children, Betty and Frank Ryan of Jeffersonville, Howard A Wright Jr. and Denise of Clarksville, Tenn., Ella Johnson and fiancé Randall Blair of Bristol, and Mary Taylor of Sheldon; several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, step-grandchildren, and great step grandchildren; a sister, Minnie Scribner and Richard of Bakersfield.

He was predeceased by his wife, Barbara (Wolcott) Wright, in 1997; a brother, Charles Wright; and two sons-in-law, Tom Taylor and Patrick Ryan Sr.

Friends may call at Brown McClay Funeral Home in Vergennes on Friday, May 30, from 10 to 11 a.m.

Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. on Friday, May 30, at Brown McClay Funeral Home in Vergennes. Interment will be in Prospect Cemetery in Vergennes.

Memorial contributions may be made to Bristol Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 227, Bristol, VT 05443.

Dr. William Arthur Pratt

RUTLAND — A memorial service for Dr. William Arthur Pratt, who passed away on April 5, 2008, will be held on Saturday, June 7, at 11 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Rutland.

 Mitchell Keros

SALISBURY — Mitchell Keros, 88, died Thursday, May 22, 2008, in the arms of his loved ones.  Born September 4, 1919, in Wilbraham, Mass., he was the son of the late Joseph and Anna (Probycian) Keroski.

 He was a graduate from Springfield Trade School, Springfield, Mass., and Rutland Business College.

Raymond “Barney” Torrey

ADDISON — Raymond “Barney” Torrey, 81, died Tuesday, May 20, 2008, at his home surrounded by his family and friends. He was born Nov. 29, 1926, in Addison, the son of Merton and Ella Wrisley Torrey.

He was a member of St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Bridport for 61 years, where he was married to Ramona Murray Nov. 29, 1947, received his Baptism, Communion, and his confirmation. He was a dairy farmer in Addison until his retirement in 1990 due to health reasons.

Then he and his wife started to go to Florida and they had the best of two worlds: Florida in the winter and Vermont in the summer. He enjoyed his vegetable gardens in the summer and shared his vegetables and enjoyed giving them to many friends in Vermont and Florida.

According to family, his passion was fishing, but he was also a great collector of things he thought were useful and a jack of all trades, doing for others and lending a helping hand.

He is survived by his wife; four children, Suzanne and Rene Many of Addison, Michael and Candy Torrey of Panton, Mark and Gayle Torrey of Addison, and Raymond Jr. and Rose of Bridport; 22 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; a brother, Merton Torrey; two sisters-in-law, Iola Torrey and Mary and Ted Arel; and several nieces and nephews.

A mass of Christian burial was celebrated  on Saturday, May 24, at St. Bernadette Church in Bridport. Interment was in Grand View Cemetery in Addison.

Memorial contributions may be made to Addison County Home Health and Hospice, P.O. Box 758, Middlebury, VT 05753, or Addison County Meals on Wheels, 112 Exchange St., Middlebury, VT 05753.

Lynne H. Porter

Capt. Harry F. “Cap” Wiseman

MIDDLEBURY — Capt. Harry F. “Cap” Wiseman, 96, of Middlebury died Friday, May 16, 2008, at Fletcher Allen Healthcare in Burlington. He was born March 2, 1912, in North Troy, N.Y. (formerly Lansinburgh), the son of the late Captain Roger and Hilda Horton Wiseman.

He was employed by the Sun Oil Company for 37 years, becoming a captain on oil tankers at the age of 21, where he piloted ships on the east coast from Marcus Hook, Penn., to the N.Y. Canal System to the Great Lakes. During World War II (1941-1945) he served under the U.S. Coast Guard (Merchant Marines).

After his retirement in 1966, he started a CB radio repair business called the Captain’s Radio Shack in Hampton, N.J. A CB’er and Amateur Radio operator since childhood, he made many friends on the CB channels in the New York, New Jersey and Vermont areas.

His early passion for electronics led him to have the first TV set in the Capital District of Albany in 1939. Reporting his program reception helped General Electric and NBC develop their TVs.

After spending many summers of his youth on Lake Champlain and proposing to his wife, Ethel Olga Appenzeller, on the shores of Lake Champlain, he returned with his wife to the North Country in 1970. His hobby of recording weather data became well known, and in 1980 the National Weather Service made him an Official Weather Observer.

His ideal location in South Lincoln made him the third highest weather reporting station in the Eastern United States. He retired from the Vermont Acid Rain Monitoring Program and the NWS in April 1995. During those sixteen years he made many friends with news reporters, weather personalities and both local and national weather offices such as Stuart Hall and Sharon Meyer.

Armand Bernard Boisvenue

LAKE CITY, Fla./BRANDON — Armand Bernard Boisvenue, 72, died April 8, 2008, in Lake City, Fla. He was born in Whiting on July 30, 1935, the son of Dominic and Leonie (Bercier) Boisvenue. Following his high school graduation he joined the United States Army. He was honorably discharged in 1957, following three years of active duty. He worked for the Atomic Energy Commission in Germantown, Md., for many years. He afterwards moved to Hartford, N.Y., where he farmed for several years. While residing in Florida he worked fro Broward County Community College in the maintenance department. He is survived by a son, Thomas Boisvenue of Queensbury, N.Y.; three daughters, Amanda Charpentier of Queensbury, Denise Boisvenue of Lake City, Fla., and Tina Wilson of Granville, N.Y.; a sister, Aline Douglas of Brandon; a brother, Albert Boisvenue of Hartford, N.Y.; 12 grandchildren; a great-grandchild; and several nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by a brother, John Boisvenue. The graveside committal service and burial, with military honors, took place on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Brandon.

Cynthia Dilworth Eagles Hodgson

Ernest Milmore Stires II

CORNWALL — Ernest Milmore Stires II, 82, died unexpectedly on Sunday, May 4, with his wife was at his side. He was born on Dec. 17, 1925, in Alexandria, Va., to a musical family.

His grandmother was Metropolitan Opera mezzosoprano Louise Homer and his grandfather, American art song composer Sydney Homer, and composer Samuel Barber was his cousin.

He graduated from Episcopal High School in Virginia, going on to study at Harvard and Dartmouth before graduating from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. He was trained as a U.S. Navy pilot during World War II, going on to a business career as a television advertising executive, first for NBC in California, then CBS in Boston.

He began improvising jazz on piano at the age of four, but it wasn’t until 1962 that he left the business world to devote his time to music. He studied composition with composers Nicolas Slonimsky and Francis Judd Cooke. Since moving to Vermont in 1967, he has been an integral part of the Vermont music community.

He took administrative positions with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra in its early years to keep the state orchestra going, as well as with the famed Bennington Composers Conference. He was a founding member of the Consortium of Vermont Composers.

But he also volunteered his services to many community music organizations. He mentored young musicians, particularly pop and jazz, never charging for his time, teaching them the basics of theory and composition, as well as introducing them to the great composers.

Vermont musicians Trey Anastasio, formerly of the band Phish, and Jamie Masefield of the Jazz Mandolin Project are among his longtime students.

Lloyd P. Tatro

STARKSBORO — Lloyd P. Tatro, 96, died Monday, May 5, 2008, at Porter Medical Center in Middlebury. He was born Oct. 29, 1911, in Bristol, the son of Powell and Otta (Hill) Tatro.

 He married Barbara LaRose Tatro June 2, 1945. He farmed for many years in Starksboro, then he worked at Middlebury College from 1963 to 1990, and he was a caretaker at John Kirk Estate in Cornwall.

 He is survived by five children, Mary and Edson Rathbun of Bristol, Richard and Judy Tatro of Bristol, Francis and Joanna Tatro of Starksboro, James and Lisa Tatro of Hinesburg, and Michael and Pamela Tatro of Bristol; several grandchildren; great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews; two sisters-in-law, Dorothy LaRose of Bristol and Floreda Parker and Robert of Willimantic, Maine.

He was predeceased by his wife of 49 years on Jan. 5, 1995; a son, Lloyd G. Tatro, on April 28, 2004; a brother Russell Tatro, and a sister Myrle Sterling.

The funeral service was held on Thursday, May 8, at Brown McClay Funeral Home in Bristol. Interment was in Green Mount Cemetery in Starksboro.

Memorial contributions may be made to Bristol Rescue Squad, PO Box 227, Bristol, VT 05443.

Elizabeth Broughton Laberge

BRIDPORT — A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 17, to celebrate the life of Elizabeth Broughton Laberge who died Jan. 7 in Orlando, Fla. The service will be held at St. Bernadette’s Church in Bridport at 11 a.m., with Father Justin Baker officiating. A reception will be held at the Parish Hall immediately after the service.

She and her husband, Roger “Charlie” LaBerge, raised their family in Bridport and moved to Orlando in 1979.

Eben Joy

Marjorie Bergen Rosane

MIDDLEBURY — Marjorie Bergen Rosane, 78, passed away Thursday, May 1, 2008, at Fletcher-Allen Healthcare, Burlington, following a brief illness. Born in Bound Brook, N.J., Dec. 16, 1929, she was the daughter of the late Arthur D. and Gladys (Romaine) Bergen.

Marjorie graduated from the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital School of Nursing in Boston, Mass. in 1950. In 1951 she married Richard C. Rosane and continued practicing as an R.N. until 1958 when she resigned to raise her family in Lincoln, Mass.

In 1977 the family moved to Weybridge, and then in 2000 to Middlebury. She volunteered for many civic and church organizations, including completing 30 years of service at the Round Robin Porter Hospital Auxiliary in March, 2008. She made and donated quilts for AIDS babies and other needy newborns in Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont.

She is survived by her husband, Richard Rosane of Middlebury; two sons, Robert Eric Rosane and his partner, Jolinda Leclair, of Middlesex, and John Arthur Rosen and his wife, Melissa, of East Brunswick, N.J., and grandchildren, Shira, Kayla and Jonah of East Brunswick, N.J.

A memorial service will be conducted at 11 a.m. on June 16, 2008, at the Congregational Church of Middlebury.

Arrangements are under the direction of Sanderson Funeral Service, Middlebury.

Captain Alfred Kirchhoff

RAINBOW LAKE ESTATES, Fla. — Captain Alfred Kirchhoff, Ret. Merchant Marines, 96, died on April 29, 2008. He was born on March 7, 1912, in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Theodore and Theresa Kirchhoff.

At the age of 3 he went to Germany with his parents and was raised there until the age of 14.

Sadie Maria LaRock

FORESTDALE — Sadie Maria LaRock, 84, died Thursday, April 24, 2008, at Rutland Regional Medical Center. She was born in Rutland on March 3, 1924, the daughter of Albert and Bernice (Wood) Wemette.

She received her early education in local Rutland schools. She has been a resident of Brandon since 1943. She cooked at the Forestdale Elementary School, which later became the Neshobe Elementary School, for over 30 years. She retired in 1990. For many years she provided a home for Fresh Air Kids from the city.

She was married to Lloyd “Ted” LaRock in Nashville, Tenn., on June 16, 1943, while he was serving in the United States Army Air Corps.

She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and of Marble Chapter Order of The Eastern Star. She belonged to Grace Episcopal Church, where she was active in the Altar Guild for over 60 years. She was always involved with the church suppers. She catered for many people and functions over the years. She also cared for many area elderly and sent cards to shut-ins.

She is survived by her husband; four sons, David LaRock of Forestdale, Mike LaRock of Ware, N.H., Dennis LaRock of New Orleans, La., and Joel LaRock of Forestdale; a brother, Richard Horton of Kannapolis, N.C.; seven grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

She was predeceased by a son, Lloyd LaRock Jr., in 1997; and a brother, Albert G. Wemette, in 1963.

The funeral service was held on Monday, April 28, 2008, at 2 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church in Forestdale. The Rev. Lee Ferry, interim rector, officiated. The graveside committal service and burial will follow in the family lot at Forestdale Cemetery.

Memorial gifts may be made to The Brandon Area Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 232, Brandon, VT 05733.

Steven Paul Laberge