ANN C. FERM

MIDDLEBURY — Ann C. Ferm, a longtime Middlebury resident, passed away June 14, 2026. She was 91.

Ann lived in recent years at Helen Porter Rehabilitation and Nursing, where she received kind and compassionate care while battling the effects of progressive bone disease.

Anne Chatellier was born July 26, 1934, in Glen Ridge, N.J. She was the middle child of Richard Woods Chatellier and Miriam Townley Chatellier, of nearby Montclair. She did not use the “e” in her given name as an adult.

The Chatelliers moved to Vermont during Ann’s youth, and later to New London N.H., where her father had a real estate business and a small farm. Her mother was a switchboard operator at Colby Junior College, now Colby-Sawyer College.

Ann had two sons, David and Scott, from marriages in early adulthood but had been single since the mid-1980s. She spent her life in Vermont and New Hampshire, except for time in Alaska and Connecticut while married to a Coast Guard officer, the late William Thurston.

She later married the late Robert Ferm, a Middlebury College professor. That settled her in Middlebury, where she lived for close to 40 years in the Butternut Ridge neighborhood east of town.

Ann worked for more than a decade at United Way of Addison County, and she was a contract typist for lawyers in Middlebury and Rutland. Prior to that she was a secretary/receptionist at Middlebury College and did secretarial work in Hanover, N.H.

Ann’s main passion was her dogs. She had three Rhodesian Ridgebacks — Zamu, Lindisha and Imani — and in her later years a mix named Tiny.

Ann was predeceased by son David and brother Richard. Survivors include son Scott (Karen) Thurston of San Diego, Calif.; sister Margaret Taylor of Metairie, La.; half-sister Amy Thomas of Marshfield, Mass; four grandsons; four great grandchildren; and extended family.

Per Ann’s wish, no funeral will be held. Burial will be near relatives at West Part Cemetery in New London, N.H.

Donations in Ann’s memory may be made to Helen Porter Rehabilitation & Nursing Fund, 30 Porter Dr. Middlebury VT 05753, to support the work of the wonderful and caring staff there.◊