RUTLAND — The family of Elizabeth (Liz) Marie Van Nostrand sadly announces her passing on Nov. 2, 2021, at Rutland Regional Medical Center in Rutland, VT.

Liz was born in the tiny town of Stockholm, Maine, on Jan. 6, 1939, the daughter of Ida (Lozier) and Eddie Bossie. She graduated from Caribou High School in 1956 and went to work for New England Telephone as a telephone operator. In May of 1957 she married an Airman from Loring AFB named Ron who would become her lifelong love and companion. Following Ron’s career with the U.S. Air Force, they moved to the lovely green mountain state of Vermont in 1965.

Liz and Ron raised two children, Valerie and Mark, and when they were in high school, she followed her passion for helping people and went back to school herself, earning her Associates Degree in Nursing from Castleton State College in 1978 (where son Mark was her chemistry lab partner!). After graduation, she worked at Porter Medical Center and then as an Occupational Health Nurse at Simmonds Precision (now Collins Aerospace) from 1979-1991. During this time she went back to school at Castleton and received her Bachelors Degree in Nursing in 1984.

She worked in the cardiovascular field from 1991 until 1995, then devoted the last five years of her nursing career to working with Alzheimer’s patients. Liz volunteered for the American Red Cross, the Heart Association, Cancer Society, and served with the Town Line First Response Squad as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).

Liz loved to sing and play guitar, with a voice like an angel that was often compared to that of Joan Baez. In 1970, she won a major talent competition and appeared on the Joe Franklin TV show in New York City. She remained active in church choir groups in both Vermont and Dunnellon, Fla., where she started spending winters after Ron passed away in 2010. She loved attending folk and bluegrass festivals, collecting antiques, and watching Dodgers baseball and Patriots football. Liz found comfort by the water and enjoyed homes next to Lake Champlain in West Addison and later by Lake Dunmore, where she spent many hours swimming and reading by the shore. She loved gardening and was happiest when up to her ankles in dirt and plantings.

Liz had a kind and gentle way about her, a reassuring presence that would put people at ease. A truly beautiful person inside and out, her spirit will be greatly missed by all who knew her. She is predeceased by her husband and soulmate, Ron, brother Joseph, and sister Hilda. She is survived by sisters Marilyn and Joan of Caribou, Maine, daughter Valerie Strong, son Mark, daughter-in-law Nancy, and grandchildren Tess, Travis, and Timothy Strong and Seth and Sarah (Denu) Van Nostrand, and several great-grandchildren.

Arrangements are by Stephen C. Gregory and Son Cremation Service, with a private burial at Randolph Veterans Memorial Cemetery. In her memory, please consider a donation to the American Heart Association, Parkinson’s research, or an animal shelter of your choice. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.◊