Linere Zupan Silloway
Linere Zupan Silloway, 68, died suddenly on Sunday, August 25, at her home on Echo Lake in East Charleston.
On Sunday evening, August 25, she was sitting on her deck enjoying her view overlooking Echo Lake, with a clear view of Bald Mountain in the distance. She had been for an early swim that morning, commenting to her neighbors about the water and weather, but, also, that she had cut her swim short that day due to a shortness of breath, a seemingly innocent statement at the time. Later that morning, she and a good friend and their dogs had gone to explore yet another section of the new trails that had been recently established between Bluff Mountain in Island Pond and Gore Mountain in Norton. She had hiked those trails so many times, even before they were fully finished and blazed, that her family had affectionately called one section, “Silloway Ridge.” She had explored the land across from her house and surrounding Elan Hill hundreds of times and knew those woods like no other. Her love of hiking in recent summers brought her to the “China Wall” in Montana, and to the Wind River Range in Wyoming. There were future plans for a hiking trip to Zion National Park in Utah.
The week after Labor Day, she had a two-week cruise planned with her sister, Susan Parent to go to Croatia and Slovenia, to explore their ancestral roots. Upon returning from her trip, she had made plans to adopt a new Shih Tzu puppy that she had already named Millie.
She is survived by her children, Craig Silloway of Florida, and her daughter Rhonda Woolridge of Wisconsin. She is also survived by her six grandchildren; her brothers Tom Zupan and his wife, Lisa, and John Zupan and his wife, Meg; and her sister Susan Parent and her husband, Dennis, all from Connecticut.
Linere was predeceased by her husband, Carroll Silloway, in the winter of 2017; and before that by her sister Laurie Zupan in Peabody, Massachusetts.
Linere was an avid reader and knitter, but, most importantly, she was a cook and a baker. She loved baking in the Southern tradition and made an amazing Key lime pie. She baked for any birthday, whether her colleagues at work, for her friends, or even the friends of their friends.
She had recently semi-retired, but still loved working part time at her job at U.S. Department of Agriculture. She was particularly endeared to her boss, David Blodgett of Orleans.
Linere was a woman that was very comfortable with her own company, but when with others she was warm and generous and always giving. She will be greatly missed by those that knew and loved her. Her family is only grieving that she is gone so soon.
A potluck “celebration of life” will be held Saturday, October 12, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the American Legion in Island Pond. For further information, please call (802) 525-1236.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the NorthWoods Stewardship Center in East Charleston.
Skip (Charles) Sedore
Skip (Charles) Sedore, of Craftsbury died on Saturday, August 24, 2019, at Copley Hospital in Morrisville.
Skip waited 18 years to be with Peggy Sedore, the love of his life, who predeceased him in 2001.
Skip was the father of three boys and three girls: Timothy Sedore and his wife, Diane Bauman, of Wanaque, New Jersey, James Sedore and his wife, Susan, of Englewood, Florida, Thomas Sedore and his wife, Lisa, of Craftsbury, Patricia Sedore Moore and her husband, Thomas Bradley, of Wanaque, Jean Pieczarka and her husband, Roy, of Clifton, New Jersey, (both predeceased), and Betsy Milo and her husband, Michael, of Lodi, New Jersey. Skip enjoyed his time with his 16 loving grandchildren; and his 13 (soon to be 14) great-grandchildren.
Skip, known as Charlie in the business world, worked for many years as a self-employed embroidery designer, who designed lace and embroidery for the New York City Garment Industry from his office in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. Skip and Peg raised their family in the mountains and lakes of Ringwood, located in Northern Jersey. He later moved to Craftsbury to retire with his wife, and subsequently took up his longtime dream of becoming a cartoonist for local magazines and papers.
He was a humble, yet, astounding artist, and that gene has been passed to many in the family, keeping his legacy alive. He also loved music, and worked at developing into a famous kitchen banjo player for years. He played at the Bobbin Mill in the Northeast Kingdom, which eventually resulted in performances and gigs with musicians/friends at some local venues. He loved entertaining the seniors at local assisted living and nursing homes, performing for most much younger than himself. Skip’s sense of humor entertained the masses, and he was surely loved in both his hometown in Ringwood, and his final resting place in Craftsbury. His family will genuinely miss his wit and sense of humor, as it was those special moments they all looked forward to.
If local folks would like to join the family for some reminiscing and fun stories, or possibly just look at some of his cartoons, which he left many, for everyone’s pleasure and enjoyment, know there is a celebration of life for Skip at the Blackbird Bar and Bistro at 1037 South Craftsbury Road, Craftsbury, Vermont 05826 on Saturday, October 26, between 2 to 5 p.m. for family, friends, and community.
Online condolences may be made at curtis-britch.com.
James Allan McKimm
James (Jim) Allan McKimm, 71, of Troy, died on August 30, 2019, at home after an over 25 year battle with heart disease.
Jim was born on Staten Island, New York, in 1948, only child of James E. and Ruth E. (Swiatovy) McKimm. He was educated at St. John Villa Academy on Staten Island, and in New York City at the high school of art and design, and New York School of Interior Design. While at St. John’s, he studied voice and sang at the school’s chorus program at Carnegie Hall and the former Mosque Theater in Newark, New Jersey. While on Staten Island, he won first place for the outdoor Christmas lighting contest on Staten Island sponsored by the Jaycees for three years running. After realizing he would keep winning, the Jaycees made him the judge of the contest for several years.
Jim was involved in church music from the age of four, singing a solo at the former Graniteville Methodist Church on Staten Island. He began his years of organist at the former Asbury United Methodist Church on Staten Island at the age of 14 after playing the piano from age ten for the Sunday school, also serving Woodrow and Christ United Methodist Churches and Olivet Presbyterian Church, two of the churches at once. He also sang with the Richmond Choral Society and the New York All City Chorus, singing at Lincoln Center. When he moved to New Jersey, as well as being organist, he also directed the 50 voice choir at the Hamilton United Methodist Church in Neptune, and presented annual holiday programs attended by as many as 1,000 people. In 1980, he was guest director at the famed Ocean Grove Choir Festival where he directed a combined choir of 1,200 voices. He remained at Hamilton for 20 years. Ballroom dancing also interested him and he won several national competitions over nine years, as well as, performed on Staten Island for several years. In June of 2000, he became organist at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church where he served until his death.
Jim also loved oil painting and showed his works at many arts shows, winning first place at the Sailors’ Snug Harbor Show in the 1960s where he was reported as “an up and coming artist” to be watched. He also wrote three history books, Old Asbury: The History of the Asbury Methodist Church, Gravestone Inscriptions in The Asbury Methodist Cemetery (both based in Staten Island), and The Friendly Church on the Hill: The History of the Hamilton United Methodist Church, (based in Neptune, New Jersey). In addition he was a charter member of the Ocean Township Historical Society of New Jersey, and a former member of the Richmond County Historical Society of Staten Island. He was a lifetime member of the Missisquoi Valley Historical Society.
Jim’s business career began in the display department at Sears Roebuck on Staten Island, then Men’s Trimmer at the former Alexander’s Department Store on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. His window displays appeared many times in industry publications. In 1973, he joined the former Steinbach Company, where he worked his way up to director of visual merchandising and presentation for the 15-store chain, retiring in 1999 when the company was dissolved.
He moved to Vermont with his partner Paul in 1997, opening the Riverbend Bed and Breakfast in Troy and running that business for 14 years. During this time, he served on the boards of Northeast Kingdom Travel and Tourism Association and the Jay Peak Area Chamber of Commerce. During this time, he also served on the board of Vermont’s North Country Chamber of Commerce, as its president for one year. He was also one of the first members of the Newport City Renaissance Corporation. He was also a member at various points of the Vermont Covered Bridge Society American Guild of Organists, and Richmond County Historical Society.
Again, returning to the arts, Jim was a founding member and driver of the MAC Center for the Arts in Newport and obtained the initial funding to begin that group which is now in its twelfth year. He was president for six years and later creative director, leaving the center in 2013.
In July of 2013, at the annual Art in Bloom event, Lynn Leimer, founding charter member and MAC board ex officio, composed the following and presented it to Jim.
“It couldn’t be done.” Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,
But, he with a chuckle replied that “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried. So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one has done it”;
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle it in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That “couldn’t be done,” and you’ll do it.
Lynn continued, “And so it was said, It couldn’t be done…but ‘they’ didn’t know Jim McKimm.” Jim’s dream to develop a cultural center for Newport was no easy task.
And while there is no “I” in team, there is an “eye” for vision and Jim had it. As an original founding member and board member, I personally witnessed this labor of love. Jim was the driving force behind the Memphremagog Arts Collaborative that has now exploded into a destination point in the Northeast Kingdom. Determination, creativity, and sheer blood, sweat and tears was Jim’s mantra. He walked the walk and talked the talk, garnering support from artists, community partners, and financial backers that has brought MAC to its present success.
No one person can take all the credit, but there needs to be a “fearless leader” who not only can understand the artistic facet of an organization, but can manifest a business plan that sustains such a venture; add to that the ability to engage artists to produce, join, participate, volunteer, and become viable partners in an esoteric concept and it spells executive director of MAC.
Jim’s vision of an artistic landmark in our corner of the world has proved him to be an impresario extraordinaire. Where there is art, there is magic. As with all things, however, change is inevitable, but the substantial footing that MAC holds in the community is a legacy Jim should truly be proud of as he embraces yet another creative phase of his eclectic journey in the Northeast Kingdom.
Thank you, Jim, for your vision, your dream, your years of service, and your grit. You did it! Jim helped with the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the MAC Center in December of 2017.
Late in 2013, Jim restarted the Music for a Sunday Afternoon music series at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, as the Now Playing Newport music series, brings local and statewide artists to perform monthly at the church. It continued at his death.
He is survived by his partner, Paul T. Becker; Paul’s children Tracy and Alex; and many friends. There are some cousins, but locations are not known.
Funeral services were held on September 7 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Newport with the Rev. Bob Wilson officiating.
Should friends desire, contributions in his memory may be made to the MAC Center, 158 Main Street, Newport, Vermont 05855.
Online condolences may be made at curtis-britch.com.
Joan Marie Campbell Green
It is with profound sadness that her family announces the death of Joan Marie Campbell Green, 69, on Saturday, August 31, 2019, following a valiant 17-year battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and myeloid-fibrosis.
Joan’s perseverance and strength were exceptional. She managed her illness with grace, never complaining, never losing her sense of humor, loving life and those around her, always pushing herself on, and trying whatever potential treatments were made available. Joan maintained an unwavering will to be strong for everyone else, a testament to her genuine devotion to her family and friends.
Joan was born on February 20, 1950, in Newport to Bernice Gour Campbell and the late John Campbell, who always referred to her as his “princess.” She enjoyed an adventurous childhood and adolescence, with siblings, friends, and relatives spending time on her family’s farm, their home on West Main Street, and summers at Campbell’s Cottages.
She attended Sacred Heart High School and went on to receive an associate’s degree from Champlain College in Burlington. Following her college graduation, she worked at the National Bank of Derby Line. It was while working there she witnessed her first and only bank robbery.
Joan married Robert “Bob” Green on February 6, 1971. Their marriage produced two sons, Derek and Tyler. The boys kept Joan busy, as they were both athletes, very active in sports and with their friends, continually needing transportation to practice, games, and activities. While raising her boys, she was the “bookkeeper extraordinaire” for Bob’s construction business. Both in life and business, for 48 years Joan was his most valued and respected partner.
In addition to her devotion to her family, Joan enjoyed gardening, cooking, and entertaining. She had a very large circle of wonderful friends. She loved a great card game and in recent years the dominoes game, “Mexican Train” became her game of choice. Joan loved the outdoors, especially snowshoeing or just bushwhacking through the woods, hoping to spot a deer or moose or maybe a “mootler.” Her home afforded her the opportunity to watch deer and turkey wander around outside her windows.
Joan discovered a special connection and fondness for owls in any size or form. Over the past several years she amassed an impressive collection. Her family and friends will especially think of her whenever they see an owl. Joan, or Joanie, as many called her, could always be depended on and was someone anyone most certainly looked forward to spending time with, whether it was just visiting, reminiscing, playing games, sharing a meal, walking, or out socializing.
Joan is survived by her husband and soul mate, Bob; her son Derek and his wife, Janelle; her two grandchildren Abigail and John Tyler; her mother, Bernice Campbell; her brothers David Campbell and his wife, Nancy, and Jim Campbell and his wife, Kim; her sisters Janice Urie and her husband, David, and Karen Bacon and her husband, Bart; her cousins Sheila, Taylor, and Judy Branch; her special cousin Michelle McCall, who Joan’s mother referred to as her seventh child, and her husband, Wally; her cherished friends: Martha, Celine, Jane, and Carol; and her many nieces, nephews, and other close friends.
Joan was predeceased by her son Tyler Green; her father, John Campbell; and her brother Peter Campbell.
Joan was a loving, compassionate, giving person whose smile could light up a room. You always enjoyed yourself when you were in her company. While we grieve her passing, we celebrate the truly wonderful woman she was. She will be forever in our hearts and dearly missed by all who knew and loved her.
A Mass was held on September 6 at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Church.
In lieu of flowers, Joan would be honored to have donations made in her memory to the OEVNA-Hospice at 46 Lakemont Road, Newport, Vermont 05855, or Church of God, Living Waters Hospice House at P.O. Box 245, Newport, Vermont 05855.
Martha Lena Perron Alexander
It is with great sadness the family shares that their dear mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Martha Lena Perron Alexander, 88, died on Friday, September 6, 2019, in Glover.
She was born August 14, 1931, in Glover.
Four Perron brothers migrated from Quebec to Glover in the 1920s and 1930s and began farming on Perron Hill, then called Clark Hill. Martha Lena Perron was one of the scores of Perron descendants who have lived in Glover since those brothers crossed the border.
She was the seventh child of Ernest and Maria (Gagnon) Perron, with 12 more siblings following; 16 of the children lived past infancy to adulthood. Like many children of French-Canadian families in the area, Martha spoke only French until starting school. She was educated her first eight years in the one-room Center School, just up the road from the family’s Shadow Lake Farm, where all but one of her classmates were her own siblings or cousins. When she and her sister Rita were children, they had a brief career at local events as a singing duo, though the performances ended when their father felt it was taking too much time to cart them around. Martha never lost her beautiful voice or her love of music.
After grade school, Martha went on to Barton Academy, and then graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Newport. She was always proud of the A’s she earned in trigonometry! She “worked out” on weekends and summers for the summer people on Shadow, Willoughby, and Caspian lakes, and as a nanny for families in New York and Connecticut, always bringing home the majority of her wages to help support the family.
After high school, she worked as a bookkeeper at Purina Grain in St. Johnsbury. At Urie’s Dance Hall near Shadow Lake, she met Wayne Alexander, who also had been raised in Glover; they married in 1951. After Wayne got a job in Burlington, they moved to Chittenden County and eventually settled in Jericho, where they raised their 11 children, including two sets of back-to-back twins. By age 29, Martha had nine children, aged nine and under, with five in cloth diapers. She worked hard. She raised her large family with love and patience abounding, using the homemaking and mothering skills she had seen her mother model. Throughout her life, she never tired of cuddling a baby.
Martha always took care of the finances and liked to say that she kept the family out of the poorhouse. She looked forward to Paul Harvey on the radio each noon, and to Frank Sinatra crooning on the stereo. She loved reading storybooks aloud to the children, but for her own reading material, she preferred nonfiction, with a quiet half-hour set aside at the end of each day to read the newspaper in peace. As the children grew, Martha had more time to give outside the family, and volunteered for Hospice, Headstart, and Meals on Wheels.
In 1989, Martha and Wayne came full circle and returned to Glover, building a home on Perron Hill, on land that was part of Martha’s family farm. The bookkeeping skills she honed at Purina so many years ago came in handy in her work as an auditor for the town of Glover and as treasurer for the Glover Historical Society. After Wayne’s passing, Martha lived in New Boston, New Hampshire, with her daughter Lisa and her family for six years, returning to Glover six years ago to live with her daughter Joan.
Martha died just a few weeks after celebrating her eighty-eighth birthday, when she gathered with all her children and extended family. She has gone on to a well-deserved rest after living with Parkinson’s, spinal stenosis, and a stroke. Martha was a member of the Catholic Church all her life and baked many a pie for church dinners over the years. She has long been admired by family and friends as a devoted wife and mother, and an incredible cook, baker, and homemaker.
She is survived by all her children: Joan of Glover, Edwin and his wife, Sandy, of Fairfax, Lisa and her husband, Dan Rothman, of New Hampshire, Cedric and his wife, Susan, of Cabot, Laura and her husband, Paul Geigle, of Massachusetts, the twins Martha and her husband, Chris Graves, of Richmond, and Mary and her husband, Danny Peet, of Richmond, the twins Paul and his wife, Lesley, of Waterbury Center, and Peter and his wife, Jeanne, of Derby, Wesley and his wife, Darlene Oxton, of Glover, and Julie and her husband, Thomas Ouillade, of Nice, France. She is also survived by her 26 grandchildren; her 11 great-grandchildren (the eleventh born two weeks ago); over 60 nieces and nephews; and by her Perron in-laws: Dennis and his wife, Linda Choquette, of Glover, Susan Cooper, and Brenda Ham.
She is also survived by eight of her Perron siblings: Rita Haag of Colorado, Estelle Lillian Parmeter of Massachusetts, Yolande (Chamberlain) of St. Johnsbury, Cecile and her husband, Ernest Davignon of New Hampshire, Nelson and his wife, Jinny, of Arizona, Eddie and his wife, Carole, of Glover, Walter and his wife, Deanna, of Connecticut, and Richard and his wife, Marilyn, of Glover.
Martha was predeceased by her parents; her husband, Wayne, in 2001; her siblings: Marcel, Jeanne Yester and her husband, Tom, Estelle Rita (died in infancy), Leo and his wife, Ruth, Louis and his wife, Theresa, Marie Lorraine (died in infancy), Jacques and his wife, Pat, Claire (died in infancy), Rachel (Choquette), and Alan; her Alexander in-laws: Warren Alexander and his wife, Pearl; Eleanor Jacobson and her husband, Richard; Elaine Urie and her husband, Bernard, Rebecca Munson and her husband, Walter, and Richard Alexander and his wife, Lorraine. She was also predeceased by her Perron in-laws: Ray Haag and Dale Chamberlain.
They will celebrate Martha’s life with calling hours at the Curtis-Britch- Converse-Rushford and Bouffard Funeral Home on 12 Elm Street in Barton on Friday evening, September 13, from 4 to 7 p.m., with a Mass at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Barton on Saturday, September 14, at 11 a.m., followed by a committal at Westlook Cemetery in Glover.
She will be missed. May her memory be eternal!
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Glover Senior Meals, care of Glover Town Clerk, 51 Bean Hill, Glover, Vermont 05839, or St. Paul’s School, 54 Eastern Aveune, Barton, Vermont 05822.
Online condolences may be made at curtis-britch.com.
Georgette Routhier
Georgette Routhier, 92, died on Sunday, September 8, 2019, in Michaud Manor in Derby Line, surrounded by her loving family.
She was born on May 11, 1927, in Bristol, Connecticut, the daughter of the late Pierre Theberge and Caroline (Terrien) Theberge.
She is survived by her children: Joanne Moeykens of Newport, Robert Ste. Marie and his wife, Claudette, of Essex, Carol Comtois and her husband, Paul, of Derby; and Lisa Ste. Marie of Derby and her husband, Armand’s, children Frances Routhier of Williston and Monsignor Peter Routhier of St. Albans; her nine grandchildren; her 21 great-grandchildren; and her several nieces and nephews. She is also survived by one sister, Jeannine Choquette of Sherbrooke, Quebec; her sisters-in-law Monique Theberge Sr., Theresa Ste. Marie, Norma Ste. Marie, and Anna Routhier; and her brothers-in-law Edwin Ste. Marie and his wife, Ruth, and Andie Ste. Marie and his wife, Gail.
Georgette was predeceased by her first husband, Gene Ste. Marie, in 1966 and her second husband, Armand Routhier, in 2013. She was also predeceased by her brother Jean Claude Theberge.
Georgette was a loving and supportive wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was a wonderful hostess and enjoyed entertaining her large family and friends whowould come to visit. She had a great sense of humor and liked to make people smile. She was a wonderful cook and enjoyed cooking meals for her family. She loved her flower gardens and enjoyed winning at cards. She was always grateful for any kindness and care shown to her, whatever the occasion. The love and care she showed her family and friends will always be appreciated.
The family will always be grateful for the loving and supportive care provided by all the gracious staff at Michaud Manor. Calling hours will be Thursday, September 12, from 4 to 7 p.m., at the Curtis Britch Funeral Home at 4670 Darling Hill Road in Newport. A Mass will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Catholic Church at 191 Clermont Terrace in Newport on Friday, September 13, at 11 a.m. Burial will follow after the service at Notre Dame Cemetery in North Troy.
Donations can be made on Georgette’s behalf to the Church of God Living Waters Hospice House, P.O. Box 245, Newport, Vermont 05855.
Online condolences may be made at curtis-britch.com.
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