Obituaries 5.15.19

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Russell Adams

It is with a gaping hole in my heart that I have to announce my father, Russell Adams, 87, has left his life on earth.  He died on May 4, 2019.

For the past three plus years he endured grueling dialysis treatments and lost both legs.  Along with many other medical issues and intense hardships his quality of life was no longer bearable as in death he is set free.

In happier and younger years he spent time building our home on Spruce Mountain Road in Plainfield, to provide for his wife, Doris Adams, and his children:  Theresa, David, Paul, and Carol, who survive him, along with five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

He worked 21 years at the granite quarries, enjoyed scenic rides in the country, fishing, hunting, woodworking, planting and tending a garden, cutting fire wood, and puttering with his beloved wood pellet stove.

After the death of Doris and a second wife, he became involved with the Barton and Orleans senior meals and formed a circle of friends that he loved to play cards with and dance (some of whom are still alive in Barton.  I want to thank them for their wonderful humor, friendship, and love that kept my father happy).  He also loved and lost two wonderful cats, Daisey and Patchie, who gave him invaluable companionship.

He enjoyed two cruises and many excursions with his daughter Carol and spent several winters in Florida with his second wife.  He will be sorely missed.  His wonderful sense of humor, his hardworking honest way, his essence will be forever remembered and cherished until we meet again.

There will be no immediate services.  At his request, he will be interred with his first wife, Doris, in Plainmont Cemetery in East Montpelier.  Family and friends will be notified.

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

Bruce Barnett

Bruce Barnett, 72, of North Troy, died on May 5, 2019, in St. Johnsbury, after losing his battle with dementia.  

He was born on August 18, 1946, in Newport to Roy and Marie (Young) Barnett.  On June 29, 1968, he married Ann Murphy, who survives him.

He was a part owner of Barnett’s Inc., and was their sole truck driver.  Among his hobbies, he enjoyed playing golf, riding motorcycles, and shooting sports.  He loved his job driving truck and tinkering on anything mechanical.  He was a longtime member of the North Country Union High School board and Troy Zoning Board.  He was a member and treasurer of the North Troy Fire Department and coached elementary school soccer.

He loved his family and granddaughters.  He was a member of the Order of the Elks #2155 and the American Legion Post #28 of North Troy.

He is survived by his wife, Ann Barnett, of North Troy; by his son Brad Barnett and his wife, Robin, of Swanton; by his grandchildren:  Brooke and Morgan Barnett; by his brother Bart Barnett and his wife, Susan, of North Troy; by his nieces:  Sarah Barnett and her husband, Jim Parker, and Betsy Barnett and her husband, Chris Saunders.  He is also survived by his in-laws: Michael and Deborah Murphy, Katherine Murphy and her husband,  Ryan Butler, Kristy Ellis and her husband, Steve, Tracey Roberts and her husband, Dennis, Mary Davis and her husband, Blaine; by his nephews:  Jared Davis and his partner, Tracey Gooley, and Ethan Davis and his partner, Lyndsay Martin.

A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 15, at St. Ignatius Cemetery in Lowell with the Reverend Leo Bilodeau officiating.  Should friends desire, contributions in his memory may be made to the Missisquoi Ambulance Service, P.O. Box 131, Troy, Vermont 05868.

Online condolences can be made at curtis-britch.com.

Wayne Harley Blake

Wayne Harley Blake, 76, of Newport Center died peacefully on May 5, 2019, in St. Johnsbury, surrounded by his loving family.

He was born on November 28, 1942, in Barton to Harley and Marjorie (Fox) Blake. 
 Wayne graduated from Orleans High School in 1961.

When he was first married he was an oil truck driver for C&O Oil company.  Then he worked for Manning & Turner, as a snowmobile mechanic.  He enjoyed snowmobiling on the weekends with friends and family.  In the late seventies, Wayne and his wife, Sharyn, owned and operated Blake’s Auto, where he was a car mechanic and salesman. Wayne always looked forward to racing his Camaro, called “The Motion,” at Sanair and Epping racetracks.  

In his younger years he enjoyed going out dancing, drinking, and listening to his brother Harry sing and play in The Long Run and various other bands.  Wayne also enjoyed fishing at his favorite spot off the Glen Road with his family.  He and his father-in-law, Glen Greenwood, were partners in B&G Auto.  They enjoyed purchasing cars at auction, and selling them.  He drove dump truck for Omer Choquette for many years before retiring.  Over the years he took great pride and joy in cleaning and polishing his own vehicles, including his dump truck.  In the last few years one of the highlights of his life was going with his son every Tuesday on the oil truck. 


He is survived by his children:  Randy Blake, and his companion, Kathy, of Newport, Derick Blake of Derby, and Brad Blake and his wife, Susan, also of Derby; by his longtime friend and mother of his children, Sharyn Blake; by family friend Pat Kilda; by his grandchildren:  Travis, Nicholas, Amanda, Shelby, Brittney, and Brady Blake; by his great-grandchildren:  Jaxon, Carsyn, Graceyn, Jasmine, Cedar, Ryder, Kolten, Raye-Lyn, and Aliyah; by his siblings:  Harry Blake, Eleanor Willis and her husband, Stanley, Betty Racine and her husband, Paul, all of Orleans, and Linda Chadburn and her husband, Gordon, of Irasburg; and by seven nephews, and three nieces.

He was predeceased by his parents and sister-n-law Monica Blake. 


A graveside service will be held on June 1 at 11 a.m., at the Pleasant View Cemetery, in Orleans with a luncheon to follow at the American Legion in Orleans.


Should friend desire, contributions in his memory may be made to the American Legion, the VFW, or St. Johnsbury Rehab.

Online condolences at curtis-britch.com.

Janet Iris Lawson

Janet Iris Lawson, 66, of Irasburg, died on May 7, 2019, in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

She was born on July 2, 1952, in Barton, to Gerald and Iris (Jacobs) Chadburn.  In 1969, she married Robert (Bob) Lawson who survives her.

Many people also knew her as “the snack shack lady.”  She had such a heart for River of Life Camp and all the people who were there either as campers or staff.  She loved to shop and get deals for the snack shack.  But she most enjoyed passing those deals along to her customers or even giving out free snacks to the volunteers.

She enjoyed scrapbooking, butter, KFC, and baking for others.  Also she was great saving things (like bows and boxes) just in case she or anyone else needed them for something.  Most of all she loved her family and her husband.  She has always put them first and took note of the things they liked most.

First and foremost, she was an incredible example of being “Christ-like.” No one was a stranger to her.  She would talk to anyone about anything, but she always made sure they would know about her Lord and Savior and all that He’s done throughout her life.  She had a zest for sharing Christ no matter what she was going through and she was a prayer warrior.  I’m sure many people don’t even know how much she prayed for them.  All she wanted was for everyone to accept Christ as their personal savior and have a personal relationship like she did with her Lord.

She is survived by her husband, Robert (Bob) Lawson, of Irasburg; by her children:  George Lawson and his wife, Christine, of Irasburg, and Suzanne Cartee and her husband, Patrick, of Irasburg; by her grandchildren:  Corinne and her husband, Kenneth “KJ” Foster Jr., Alyssa, Micah, Joshua, Hannah, Titus, Eliana, and Moriah Lawson, Glen, Mackenna, Jacquelyn, and Alayna Cartee.  She is also survived by her siblings:  Gordon Chadburn and his wife, Linda, Wayne Chadburn and his wife, Carla, Marion Valenta, Beryl Norris, and Gloria Stoddard; and by several nieces, nephews, and cousins. 

She was predeceased by her brothers George Chadburn and Earl Norris.

Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. on Friday, May 17, at the New Hope Bible Church in Irasburg.  Interment will be on Monday, May 20, at 11 a.m. in Pine Grove Cemetery in Newport.  

Should friends desire, contributions in her memory may be made to the River of Life Camp, 1145 Vermont Route14, Irasburg, Vermont 05845.

Online condolences can be made at curtis-britch.com.

Patricia Ann Lezon

Patricia Ann Lezon, 84, of Newport died on May 10, 2019, in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

She was born on July 23, 1934, in Newport to Clyde and Pearle (Mitchell) Barber.  On April 26, 1986, she married Edward Lezon, who predeceased her on March 28, 1988.

Patricia traveled to many areas in Massachusetts and Connecticut where she was a bartender and waitress.  She enjoyed playing her ukulele, going to yard sales, and cooking and baking for family gatherings.

She will be missed by many family members and friends.

Rollin Bradford Norris

Rollin Bradford Norris, 85, died peacefully after a short bout with lung cancer on March 27, 2019, a few weeks after his eighty-fifth birthday.  He was a summer resident of Lowell for the past 24 years. 

He was born in France to Whitton Evens Norris and Carolyn Gallagher Norris, where his father was an ambulance driver during World War I. 

Rollin and his family returned to the United States shortly after he was born and settled in Massachusetts.  When his father returned from World War II, the family went to Arizona and Oklahoma for his father’s health. 

Notwithstanding his brief detour, Rollin was confirmed a New Englander, accent and all.  It was not until his children were adults that they learned that he rode horses competitively as a child.  He was a proud graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy in 1952, and Harvard University in 1956, as magna cum laude.  Rollin was called to the priesthood, graduating from Episcopal Theological Seminary, now Episcopal Divinity School at Union.  He was ordained in 1959, and served as curate for St. Luke’s in Minneapolis from 1959 to 1962, as vicar of Church of the Resurrection in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, as associate rector for Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, from 1968 to 1971, as rector of St. Paul’s in Port Huron, Michigan, from 1971 to 1985, and as rector of All Saints in Detroit from 1985 to 1989.  After that he served in numerous parishes as intern rector until 1995.

For most of his adult life, Rollin’s adventures included Margo Pinney Norris.  Married in 1959, they would have celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary in 2019.  Although she stayed home with two young children when he marched in Selma, Alabama, in 1965, an event that influenced the rest of his life, she was with him when the family went to the Poor People’s March in Washington in 1968, and when they sailed the North Channel and Georgian Bay from their base on Manitoulin Island, before they established their summer home in Lowell.  They traveled extensively in their retirement to many exotic places.

In addition to Margo, he is survived by his brother Whitton (Tony) Evens Norris who summers in Stowe; by his sister Mary Wyatt Norris; and by his children:  Megan Pinney Norris and her husband, Howard Matthew, and William Gallagher Norris and his wife, Wendell Tong; and by his grandchildren:  Tayler Norris Matthew and Beatrice Norris Tong.

Rollin was predeceased by his parents; and his brother George Rockwood (Rocky) Norris. 

A memorial service will be held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Newport on Saturday, June 1, at 11 a.m.  In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church or to the Vermont Land Trust.

Committal services

Michael Allard

Committal services for Michael Allard will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, at the Lake Road Cemetery in Newport Center.  Full military honors will be held.

Reginald Griggs

Committal services for Reginald Griggs will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 18, at the Branch Cemetery in Craftsbury with the Reverend Kelly Deslauries officiating.

Germaine Roy

Funeral services for Germaine Roy will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 18, at St. Edward’s Catholic Church in Derby Line where a Mass will be celebrated. 

John Sorrell Jr.

Committal services for John Sorrell Jr. will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, at Mountainview Cemetery in Lowell with the Reverend David Dizazzo officiating.

Norman Rivard

Funeral services for Norman Rivard will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 23, at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Newport where a Mass will be celebrated.  Friends may call at the church on Thursday, May 23, from 10 a.m. until the hour of the funeral.

Gabrielle Hilliker

Committal services for Gabrielle Hilliker will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 18, at the Newport Center Cemetery with the Reverend Chris Barton officiating.

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