BRISTOL — Mary (Arnold) Peabody, 83, was lifted to Heaven on Sunday, March 7, 2021, from EastView in Middlebury, Vt. Daughter of Elizabeth (Hamlin) Arnold and Philip E. Arnold, Mary was born on April 25, 1937, in Worcester, Mass. She grew up in western Massachusetts and southern Vermont, graduated Jacksonville (Vt.) High School in 1955, matriculated at the University of Vermont, where she met her future husband, Jim Peabody, and graduated in 1959 with a B.S. in Home Economics.
Mary and Jim were married on Sept. 5, 1959, in Jacksonville, settled first in Vergennes, Vt., and subsequently moved to Bristol, Vt., where they have lived for 59 years.
In 1973, when her last child entered elementary school, Mary returned to UVM, where she studied for and received a Masters Degree in Education. She taught as a Special Education Teacher for many years in New Haven, Lincoln, and Bristol; retiring in 1999 from Bristol Elementary. She found great joy in teaching children to read and to learn. That is a career that runs in her family and at which she had great success. Whenever you go by a school, think of her.
But Mary’s greatest joy was her children, grandchildren and family. And, she also enjoyed singing, dancing (especially square-dancing), art, music, cooking, animals, camping, boating, “touring,” and anything else that moved, walked, talked or giggled. She was a splendid hostess to all, following that old poem “Friends, you are welcome here. Be at your ease…”
Mary is survived by husband Jim, daughter Elizabeth Peabody, son Jim Jr, daughter Rebecca Amblo and her husband Len Amblo and daughter Barbara Collette. She is also survived by grandsons Dakota Amblo, Damian Amblo, Foster Collette and George Collette. Mary is also survived by a brother, David Arnold and his wife Andra Crawford of Exeter, N.H.
The family wishes to sincerely thank the staff at EastView’s Garden Song unit for their loving care of Mary in her final years. We appreciate that very much and we are sure that Mary did also.
A memorial service for Mary will be held later in the spring or early summer. If desired, donations may be made in her name to a charity of your choice.◊