Obituaries

Obituaries July 18, 2012

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Charlotte Pamela Crandall

Charlotte Pamela “Pam” Crandall, 84, died on Friday, July 13, 2012, from congestive heart failure.

She was born in Bangor, Maine, to Charles P. Crandall and Martha Halling Crandall.  The family moved to Hardwick, where her father worked on the St. Johnsbury and Lamoille County Railroad.  Her sisters, Sally Crandall Cromer and Joan Crandall Pierce, were born in Hardwick.

Ms. Crandall graduated from Hardwick Academy and the University of Vermont with a degree in English with some French thrown in.  In 1950, her teaching career began in Hyde Park.  Then she taught in Essex Junction, even before IBM.  In 1956, she joined the Department of Defense Schools in Europe where she taught high school English, French, and ancient history for 36 years in Rochefort, France, in Poitiers, France, in Wiesboden, Germany, and finally in Brussels, Belgium, from which she retired in 1992.  Her teaching career spanned 42 years in Vermont and Europe, during which times she made an amazing impact on her students.  She returned to Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom to her beloved camp on Daniels Pond in Glover.

She spent her retirement reading, listening to classical music, and attending as many museums and theater events as possible.  She shared her unbounded love of the arts with all she met.  On Saturday mornings you could find her listening to “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” on NPR and she never missed the Sunday New York Times.

Predeceased by her sister, Joan Crandall Pierce, her zeal for life was with her for all of her 84 years and lives on in her sister, Sally Crandall Cromer, several nieces and nephews, and some very good friends.

A memorial party will be planned in the future in accordance with her wishes, where there should be no tears, for a wonderful life was lived.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington; the Hardwick Historical Society in Hardwick; or one’s local library.

Online condolences may be sent to the family through the funeral home website at www.curtis-britch.com.

Lucille E. Flynn

Lucille E. Flynn, 76, of Morgan, died on Saturday, July 14, 2012, in Newport.

She was born on March 29, 1936, in Lake Salem, New York, a daughter of Julian and Evelyn (LeClair) Wheeler.

She and her husband, Lyman, who predeceased her on December 17, 2009, owned and operated a dairy farm where they brought up their family.  She was a member of the Free Will Baptist Church in West Charleston, and she was town clerk and treasurer for the town of Morgan for over 25 years.  She was a past member of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, which presented her a plaque honoring her for 25 years of membership.

Mr. and Mrs. Flynn loved to dance, go snowmobiling, and travel.  She was especially proud of her grandchildren and she attended all of the games and events that they all participated in over many, many years, offering her love and support.  She also liked to cook much to the delight of her family especially when she made her homemade English muffins.  She was always willing to give a hand in the community and could always be counted on for her sense of humor.  She was a friend, mother and Nana to all.

She is survived by her children:  Timothy Flynn and his wife, Debbie, Laura Gobeil and her husband, John, and Cyndi Dane and her husband, Brian; her grandchildren:  Stephen Flynn and his wife, Pia, Levi Flynn and Cassandra, John and Rachel Adams, Bryant, Patrick and Erika Tuller, Holly Gobeil and her fiancé, Tom Manzo, John Gobeil Jr., Hope and Troy Dane, and “special son” Ric, and Tammy Pare; her great-grandchildren:  Aliyah Flynn, Isabella, Jacob and Daniel Flynn; her brother Robert Wheeler and his wife, Theresa; her sisters-in-law:  Ruby Flynn and Betty Flynn; and by several nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, July 20, at the Curtis-Britch-Converse-Rushford Funeral Home, 4670 Darling Hill Road, in Newport, with the Reverend Richard Whitehill officiating.  Friends may call at the funeral home on July 20, from 1 p.m. until the hour of the funeral.  Interment will follow in Clark Cemetery in Morgan.

Should friends desire, contributions in her memory may be made to the Ron Holland Dialysis Center, care of North Country Hospital, 189 Prouty Drive, Newport, Vermont 05855.

Online condolences may be sent to the family through the funeral home website at www.curtis-britch.com.

Durward J. Gebbie

 Durward J. Gebbie, 89, of Glover and Mansfield, Connecticut, died on Tuesday, July 10, 2012, at the Pines Rehabilitation Center in Lyndon following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

He was born of Scottish descent on February 13, 1923, in Greensboro, the son of John and Beatrice (Fuller) Gebbie.  Mr. Gebbie graduated from Craftsbury Academy in 1942, where he excelled in athletics, especially competitive skiing.  He enjoyed cross-country skiing to school.

In the fall of 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force and served in the Middle Eastern Theater Campaign during World War II.  Following his honorable discharge, he returned to Craftsbury and married Clemma Davis on June 30, 1946.  They moved to Mansfield, where he was employed by the University of Connecticut as the herdsman on the dairy farm.  Mr. Gebbie became an active member of the community and served as a Mansfield selectman in 1963.  He also coached baseball and was the manager of a bus line, driving commercial and school buses.  He enjoyed boating and fishing with his family in their cabin cruiser and traveling in their motor home.

In 1970, the Gebbies moved back to Vermont where they owned and managed Lyndonville Hardware.  In 1975 they expanded and opened St. Jay Hardware in St. Johnsbury.

Mr. Gebbie was an active member of the Lions Club, the Veterans of Foreign War, the Masons and a Shriner.  He was a 65-year member of the Free and Accepted Masons and a member of Crescent Lodge #66.  After retirement the Gebbies enjoyed 20 years golfing, fishing and being with friends while wintering in their Port St. Lucie, Florida, home.

Survivors include his wife of 67 years, Clemma Gebbie of Glover; his seven children:  Darwin Gebbie and his wife, Priscilla, of Lebanon, Connecticut, Donna Clauson and her husband, Jack, of Mansfield, John Gebbie and his wife, Denise, of Waterford, Brad Gebbie and his wife, Debbie, of Glover, Brenda Semmelrock and her husband, Harold, of Gilman, Connecticut, Carol Shepherd and her husband, Ron, of Grantham, New Hampshire, and Linda Johnson and her husband, Chris, of Palm City, Florida; his 18 grandchildren; his three great-grandchildren; his two sisters:  Mavis Kowaliw of Hebron, Connecticut, and Ruth Luckey of Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania; his many nieces and nephews; and by many friends in the Northeast Kingdom, Port St. Lucie, and Mansfield.  He was predeceased by his parents; his brother Harry Gebbie; and by his grandson Gregory Gebbie.

Funeral services will be private and held at the convenience of the family.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Crescent Lodge #66, P.O. Box 22, Lyndonville, Vermont 05851.

Private online condolences may be shared with the family at www.guibordfh.com.

James “Jim” Joseph Raftery III

James “Jim” Joseph Raftery III, 33, died peacefully on Friday, June 29, 2012, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after a long battle with cancer.

On that day our world suffered the loss of a kind and gentle soul, a young man with compassion, courage and a fearless love of life.

He was born on May 29, 1979, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and spent most of his youth in Orleans.  He graduated from Lake Region Union High School in 1998 where he stood out as a cross-country skier, and attended the University of Alaska at Anchorage.  He received an associate’s degree in culinary arts from the Arts Institute of Fort Lauderdale in 2008.

After living in the Northeast Kingdom, Anchorage, Alaska, and Boston, Massachusetts, he settled in Fort Lauderdale where he was owner of PassionFood, a private chef and catering company.  He loved antiques, yoga, scuba diving, and standup paddle boarding.

He will be greatly missed by his partner of seven years, Michael Lenihan of Fort Lauderdale; his parents:  Joanie and Larry Austin of Orleans; his siblings:  Bobby Raftery of Brattleboro, Derek Austin and his wife, Jenn, of Chesapeake, Virginia, Kathryn Raftery of Culpeper, Virginia, and Chesley Austin and her partner, James Peverill, of Canton, Massachusetts; his grandparents, Lois and Warren Austin of Orleans; his aunts:  Karen Bennett and Ann Austin of Orleans; and by his baby nieces:  Chessa and Riley Austin of Chesapeake.  He also leaves his beloved miniature schnauzers, Chips and Lealea.  He was predeceased by his grandparents, Bob and Kitty Bennett; and by his sister, Molly Raftery.

A memorial service will be held at Orleans Federated Church on Saturday, July 21, at 11 a.m., with the Reverend Harvey Bartlett presiding.  A reception will follow at the church directly following the service.

If desired, donations in his memory may be made to the Orleans Emergency Unit, care of Dottie Collier, 1327 Dry Pond Road, Glover 05839; or to the Pope Memorial Frontier Animal Shelter, 4473 Barton-Orleans Road, Orleans, 05860.

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