VERGENNES — Residents of the Vergennes area and all those who knew and worked with Joe and Nancy Klopfenstein are invited to a Nov. 22 reception to bid the Little City couple adieu before they leave their home of more than three decades and relocate to Oregon.
Joe Klopfenstein, a popular and busy large animal veterinarian, has been elected to four 2-year terms on the Vergennes City Council, earning the most votes of any alderman on the ballot last spring.
Nancy Klopfenstein, a member of the Women of Wisdom philanthropic group, was a longtime nurse in Porter Hospital’s birthing center and helped found Tapestry Midwifery. 
The couple is moving to Oregon, where their two adult sons reside and where Joe will start a teaching job with Oregon State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine
“Help us to thank them for their friendship and for sharing their many talents with us and for all of the marvelous contributions they have made to our communities for the last 30 years,” Diane Lanpher said in a posting announcing the reception. “Vermont’s loss is certainly Oregon’s gain.”
The event will take place at the Vergennes Opera House on Sunday, Nov. 22, from 1-5 p.m. The Champlain Brass Quintet, of which Joe Klopfenstein is a member, will perform for the final time with all five of its’ original members (Jim Lanpher, Dave Tatlock, Bill Bowers, Sue O’Daniel and Klopfenstein). A charter member of Champlain Philharmonic, Joe has also blown his trumpet for the Vergennes City Band for the past 28 years.
Also at the reception, the choir of the Vergennes Congregational Church, where the Klopfensteins are members, will perform a few favorite selections. The Champlain Brass Quintet, Women of Wisdom, Antidote and many volunteers are sponsoring the reception. Refreshments will be available, Antidote will provide a cash bar and ample time to share memories and wish Joe and Nancy well.