ADDISON — Long-time Addison County obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Alan Ayer, who delivered well over 5,000 babies and practiced in this area more than 30 years, died suddenly on Friday, March 13. He was 71 years old.
Ayer was a native of Maine, and he received his medical degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He practiced medicine for more than 40 years.
Ayer was the husband of Sen. Claire Ayer, who has represented Addison County as a Democrat in the Vermont Senate since first being elected in 2002.
The Ayers lived in Weybridge for around three decades, before moving to Addison a few years ago. The have three adult children: Gretchen, Allison and Nathan.
Alan Ayer was well-known in the community, in part by meeting and working with thousands of families through his practice, Addison Associates in Obstetrics and Gynecology, which he ran with Dr. James Malcolm.
His daughter Allison said in a Facebook post this past weekend that in addition to being “humble and skilled,” as well as available to anyone and any hour. More than just a loving father and caring doctor, she wrote that he was an “all-around fix-it guy, joker, sage, confidante, soother of ills and worries, celebrant of life’s victories … holder of collective memories and an enthusiastic storyteller.”
She wrote that her father “loved his family with the ferocity of a mama tiger. Bereft isn’t a sufficient word” to describe the family’s anguish.
A wake for Dr. Ayer will be held from 4-7 p.m. on Friday, March 20, at the Sanderson funeral home, South Main Street, Middlebury. There will be a funeral at St Mary’s in Middlebury at 11 a.m. on Saturday the 21st.
His friends and colleagues at Porter Hospital were described as being in shock and saddened by the news of Ayer’s passing. A Porter spokesman said they would observe a moment of silence for Dr. Ayer prior to the hospital’s annual meeting on Monday evening.
Lt. Gov. Phil Scott and Sen. John Campbell released a statement Sunday saying their thoughts were with Sen. Ayer.
“We know we speak for the entire Legislature when we say we are here for Claire and her family during this very difficult time,” they said in a statement distributed by the Addison County Democrats.