Leo P. Verge
Leo P. Verge, 72, of Brownington, died on August 7, 2022, at his home surrounded by his loving family.
He was born on March 8, 1952, in Magog, Quebec, to Barbara and Gayten Verge.
Leo is survived by his loving wife of 28 years, Norma Otero-Verge, and by his children: Joshua Bartolomeo of Brownington, Ethan Bartolomeo of Worcester, Tracy Glodgett of Brownington, and Leo Verge Jr.; and by his grandchildren: Zavier Bartolomeo of Worcester, Akira Conley of Barton, Cloe Ann Verge, and Adam and Brad Glodgett. He is also survived by his brother, Gaeten Verge, and his half-brother, Burt Glodgett.
He was predeceased by his father, mother, and sister, and by another half-brother Roger Goodell.
Leo was an adventurer during his younger years. He had numerous job titles and had a vast array of skills and knowledge. He was a logger and built silos.
Leo met his wife Norma in 1993 and decided to settle down. They moved to Brownington in 1998.
He loved spending his free time hunting, fishing, and watching football or old westerns.
Leo loved his family most of all and was a dedicated family man. He and Norma had a good life together. Leo decided two years ago to give his heart to the Lord, get baptized, and became a Seventh Day Adventist.
There will be a celebration of his life on Saturday, September 10, at 6 p.m., in back of his house.
Betty J. Tinker
Betty J. Tinker, 66, of Derby, died on August 24, in Newport. She was born on April 2, 1956, in Woburn, Massachusetts, to the late Lester and Barbara (Carroll) Jewer.
Betty worked as a licensed nurse’s aide at Maple Lane, Bel-Aire and Derby Green nursing homes, as well as several nursing homes in Massachusetts.
She loved her nieces and nephews and enjoyed spending time with them. She also enjoyed going to Hampton Beach in New Hampshire and having cookouts.
She is survived by her brothers, Lester and Kevin Jewer, sister Kimberley Gray and her husband, Todd, as well as her many nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her husband, Bernie Tinker, both her parents, and her sister Karen Jewer.
Friends may call from 11 a.m. until the hour of the funeral at noon on Sunday, September 11, at the Curtis-Britch and Bouffard Funeral Home, 37 Lake Road, Newport, with Pastor Danny Craig officiating.
If friends desire, memorial contributions in Betty’s name may be made to the American Cancer Society, 55 Day Lane, Williston, Vermont 05495.
Online condolences may be made at curtis-britch.com.
Ronald Niles
Ronald Niles, 70, of Irasburg, died on August 14, 2022, in Newport. He was born on February 11, 1952, in Newport to the late Douglas and Sylvia (Sanville) Niles.
Ronald worked as a mechanic for many years. He enjoyed being out in the woods, farming, taking care of animals, sugaring, driving, and was a NASCAR fan.
He is survived by his children: Nicole Libby and her husband, Monte, Nanette Lantagne and her husband, Bryan, Courtney Farrar and her husband, Timothy, and Casee O’Brien; by his grandchildren: Preston, Peyton, Brittney, Nicholas, Noah, Bailey, and Nash; by several great-grandchildren; by his sisters: Virginia and her husband, Carlton, Beverley, and Sandra, and by his brother Robert and his wife, Irene.
Ronald was predeceased by his best friend and wife, Rita Niles, his parents, sisters Gloria and Shirley, and his brother Reginald.
A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, September 7, at St. John Catholic Cemetery in East Albany.
If friends desire, memorial contributions in Ronald’s name may be made to Pope Memorial Frontier Animal Shelter, 4473 Barton Orleans Road Orleans, Vermont 05860, or Norris Cotton Cancer Center North, 1080 Hospital Drive, St. Johnsbury, Vermont 05819.
Online condolences may be made at curtis-britch.com.
Lee Tyler Lacroix
It is with great sorrow that his family must announce the death of Lee Tyler Lacroix.
Lee died on Saturday, August 20, in West Charleston. He was just shy of his thirty-eighth birthday. He was born on August 22,1984, at North Country Hospital in Newport, to his proud parents Laura L. (Osborn) Lacroix and Marc L. Lacroix of East Charleston.
He is survived by his loving wife, Panda (Thompson) Lacroix, and his three beautiful children: Carson (14), Ayden (10), and Azalea (7). Lee also leaves behind his parents, stepmother, stepsisters, in-laws, aunts, uncles, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. All are heartbroken.
Lee was predeceased by his brother Max and a number of aunts and uncles.
A graduate of Charleston Elementary School (class of 1998), Lee also attended North Country Union High School and the Vermont Technical College before entering a number of trades. He placed cable, fixed railroad tracks, and was a great help on many of his father’s masonry jobs. He was most recently employed as a mover.
Lee’s greatest joy was taking the family on fishing and camping trips. They also enjoyed the county fairs. He was very fond of lighthouses, dogs, and apple pie. Lee is, and will be, very badly missed. Rest in peace.
There will be a memorial celebration of Lee’s life to be held at Mad Brook Farm in East Charleston. The date and time will be announced via social media.
Eva Brett Church
Eva Brett Church, 91, beloved mother of Shauna, John, and Penelope, died on Friday, August 12, 2022, from the Craftsbury Community Care Center, her Vermont home for the past four years — a home she frequently announced she felt very blessed to have found.
Born in Claremorris, County Mayo, Ireland, in 1930, to Ellen Forde Brett and M. Antony “Anto” Brett, Eva grew up on the family estate surrounded by the mountains, trees, stone walls, and sheep she loved so well — and elephants, as her father would allow them to be pastured on Carradoyne grounds whenever the circus passed through.
An adventurer at heart, Eva went to London for nurses training at St. John and St. Elizabeth Hospital where she won the coveted John Lamb Prize for nursing excellence, the first of many awards gained in her career for helping those in need. After meeting her husband in the emergency room there (he was a London bobby at the time), they emigrated to Alberta, Canada, where her husband worked on the design/build of the DEW system and Eva worked with the indigenous populations, an honor she recounted often.
After returning to England to have Shauna, the three moved to New York and New Jersey, where John and Penelope were born. Her husband’s career brought the family to Houston, Texas, in 1964 and much later to Austin.
She was a wonderful mother, immersing her children early in culture at the Houston Jones Hall, summer programs at museums, individual days out, and anything else she could think of to “broaden their minds.” They were introduced to Scrabble as toddlers and heard a constant refrain of “Look it up!” when they asked what something meant.
On family road trips through Texas, she would research local history and force a stop at all historical markers so her children would understand the local culture and perspective. (As they grew older they dubbed them “hysterical markers” — Eva pretended she was not amused, but actually she was.)
She celebrated Christmas like no other, filling stockings to the brim and beyond with amazing items fine-tuned for each, some sent from Ireland by Gran or Auntie Mary. She might occasionally mix up who liked dark chocolate and who didn’t; the children would just laugh and say, “this must be for you,” and switch.
Watching Eva be swept away by a Mozart French horn concerto was a lesson in pure joy.
Always mission driven, in her mid-50s Eva returned to school and earned her master’s in health administration at St. Edward’s University in Austin. She worked to improve health care access and support through programs at Holy Cross and Seton hospitals, creating relationships maintained right up to her passing.
A fierce advocate for the elderly, Eva became the first state ombudsman for nursing homes for central Texas, then went on to help create and build such groundbreaking programs as Austin Groups for the Elderly (now AGE of Central Texas), North Central Caregivers, Drive-A-Senior, and the A.G.E. Caregiver Resource Center. She long served on the Central Texas Interagency Council (now Area Agency on Aging), fostering collaboration between like-minded programs. Working with Texas Adult Protective Services and Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, she brought validation therapy to Texas and became an expert in Alzheimer’s and dementia support.
Ironically it was Alzheimer’s that was to claim her own independence, and it was her own daughter who was to benefit from the caregiver support programs she helped establish. It was Eva’s expertise and that of her eldercare colleagues that allowed her family to understand that Craftsbury Community Care Center was Eva’s solution when she could no longer stay in her home. Call it serendipity, call it karma, call it Divine Hand — her family simply knows that a very apprehensive woman walked through the care center doors and felt instantly safe. “I’ll be safe here,” she said. And she was.
She spent her final four years in joy and contentment, among trees and music and friends and fun, and her final days with the care and support of skilled people who loved her. And that’s exactly how it should be.
Eva was predeceased by her parents and her beloved brother, Hugh Brett.
She is survived by her three children: Shauna Church of Brooklyn, New York, John Church of Austin, Texas, and Penelope Doherty of Craftsbury; by her sister Mary (Eamonn) Murphy of Templecarrig and Dublin, Ireland, and sister Julie (Brian) Chisholm of Watford, United Kingdom; by much-loved niece and nephews: Paul, Brian, and Rory Murphy of Ireland, Joanna Brett of New York and David Brett of United Kingdom, and Phillip and Richard Chisholm of United Kingdom; by many loving cousins and childhood friends, including Imelda Vahey Bush of United Kingdom; by special “daughters” Patty Schick Gannon of Boston and Deirdre Darrouzet of Austin; and by friends and colleagues too numerous to mention, but who all loved her and helped the family so much in the past ten years as they navigated this difficult disease.
A remembrance service is planned Wednesday, August 31, at Craftsbury Community Care Center for residents, staff, and friends (if weather permits).
Eva will be interred in the family plot in Ireland in September, followed in October by a memorial Mass in Austin.
Please make memorial contributions to Craftsbury Community Care Center Building Fund, 1784 East Craftsbury Road, Craftsbury, Vermont 05826, in honor of the sitting porch Eva loved and to help others in need of safe and dignified support; or to the elder care organization of your choice.
Thank you, Eva, for the arts, the music, the laughter, and above all, the love. Her family will miss her so much but are thankful she went in peace and is now with Gran and Uncle Hugh.
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