JOAN DUNDON CARLYLE

“May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face, and the rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of His hand.”

— Traditional Irish blessing

ORWELL — Joan Mary Raymond Dundon Carlyle of Orwell, Vt., age 91, died peacefully in her sleep with her daughters by her side on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. She was born in Springfield, Vt., Feb. 7, 1934. She graduated from Springfield High School in 1952 and received a scholarship to attend Castleton Teacher’s College where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1956. She was captain of her basketball team in high school, captain of Castleton College Athletic Association and queen of the Castleton Winter Carnival. She married her college sweetheart, Gael Martin Dundon in 1955. Her teaching career began in a one-room stone schoolhouse in Sudbury, Vt.

Following the birth of her seven children she founded a kindergarten in Orwell and taught there for one year. The following year she transitioned to teaching 4th grade in the Orwell Village School until her retirement in 1999. She received Vermont Teacher of the Year awards in 1983 and 1984 and is remembered by her students for her dedication to exceptional learning, including innovative field trips. In 2000 she married her second husband Robert Jerome Carlyle and spent her remaining years in travel and nature.

Joan was beautiful, sweet, kind, and curious. She was wonderful and generous; a mother and grandmother extraordinaire who taught her children to embrace life. A lover of nature and wild things; of lakes, walks in the woods, birds, wildflowers, flower gardening and wild berry picking. She was a natural athlete with a love for hiking, swimming, rowboating and skiing. She was a passionate dog lover, with a dog always by her side or sticking a head out the window of her jeep, most recently her beloved dog Rudy. She was a lifelong learner and adventuresome traveler who expanded her world and those around her with her wide-ranging interests, including her love of Vermont history. She was introduced to Catholicism and the Latin mass as a young girl by her beloved brother Russell “Bub,” and she carried a strong religious faith and love for God throughout her life.

Joan is survived by her daughter Carolyn Marie Dundon, son-in-law Laurie Tully Reed III and grandsons Donny Michael Phillips and Jesse Kimberly Smith, and honorary granddaughter Stephanie Lynn Menotti of Bristol, Vt.; daughter Cathleen Ann St. George, son-in-law John St. George and grandchildren Sarah Mae Chen, Rebecca Joan Mees, Jacob Abraham St. George and Lucas John St. George of Economy, Pa.; daughter Cynthia Dundon Del Bianco and son-in-law Robert E. Del Bianco of Center Rutland, Vt; daughter Colleen Elizabeth Dundon, son-in-law Michael Arthur Desrochers and grandson Matthew Gael Desrochers of Newfields, N.H.; son Christopher Joseph Dundon and daughter-in-law Stacey Stanhope Dundon of Orwell, Vt.; son Michael Gael Dundon, daughter-in-law Kathy Ellen Dundon and grandsons Ryan Michael Dundon and Mitchell Gael Dundon of Orwell Vt.; daughter Jennifer Joan Sanderson, son-in-law John Harold Sanderson and grandchildren Father Joseph John Sanderson, Alexander Michael Sanderson and Adella Rose Drago of Orwell, Vt.; stepdaughter Dorothy Levine of Valley Cottage, N.Y.; stepson Robert Carlyle of West Nyack, N.Y.; and stepson Keith Carlyle of West Nyack, N.Y. In addition, Joan is survived by 13 (almost 14) great-grandchildren.

She is predeceased by her parents Russell Dusham Raymond Sr. (d. 1950) and Beulah M. Raymond Roys (d. 1994), brother Russell Dusham “Bub” Raymond Jr. (d. 1941), sister Shirley Ann Giroux (d. 2014), sister Sally R. Gabert (d. 2023), first husband Gael Martin Dundon (d. 1992), sister-in-law Mary D. Yungfleisch (d. 2022), sister-in-law Eleanor “Dee” Rita Dundon (d. 2022) and second husband Robert Jerome Carlyle Sr. (d. 2019).

A wake will be held on Monday, April 7, from 3 to 6 p.m. at Miller & Ketcham Funeral Home in Brandon, Vt., followed by a Catholic Mass Tuesday, April 8, at 10 a.m., at St. Paul’s Church in Orwell, Vt. A reception follows the service at the Firehouse in Orwell, Vt.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to Saint Paul’s Parish (45 North Rd., Castleton, VT 05443) or Addison County Humane Society (236 Boardman St., Middlebury, VT 05753). The family wishes to extend special thanks to the wonderful staff at Gardensong Memory Care Unit at Eastview and Addison County Hospice, along with Dr. David Turner for their kind and loving care. ◊