Obituaries
• Ruth Marion Allard Bartosewcz, 84, of Readsboro. Died June 4 at her home. Wife of the late Fred Bartosewcz. Mother of Craig Bartosewcz and his wife, Cindy, of Readsboro; Michael Bartosewcz and his wife, Joyce, of Wichita, Kansas; Nancy Silulu and her husband, Val, of Boxborough, Mass.; and Shelley Sanchez and her husband, John, of Billerica, Mass. Sister of Lucille Finneault of Maynard, Mass. and Esther Carmody of Camp Verde, Ariz. Born in Jacksonville, the daughter of Clyde and Marion (Haynes) Allard, she lived on the family farm on Allard Road in Jacksonville and attended school in Jacksonville. After graduation, she lived with her aunt in Brattleboro where she worked for several years. She married in 1950 and she and her husband made their home in Readsboro, where she worked with her husband as bookkeeper for their family's excavating business. She enjoyed her work and the day-to-day challenges it presented to her, and she continued to work until the beginning of this year. She served on the Readsboro School Board for 15 years while her children were in school. She enjoyed traveling and especially liked traveling to Aruba. She enjoyed getting together with friends for lunch and playing Bingo. She loved to have family gatherings for holidays, and at other times for no other reason than the pleasure of having everyone together. Memorial information: A funeral service was held June 9, at the Readsboro Baptist Church, with interment in the family lot in Readsboro Village Cemetery. Donations to the Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice of Vermont and New Hampshire, P.O. Box 976, White River Junction, VT 05001.
• Ruth Katherine (McKee) Gordon, 92, of Brattleboro. Died June 2 at Thompson House. Former wife of Dr. Morris A. Gordon. Mother of Barbara Jean Gordon of Frederick, Md.; David Spencer Gordon and his wife, Annie Chappell, of Northfield, Mass.; and Sara Elizabeth “Sally” Gordon and her husband, Jim Rechtenwalt, of Sloatsburg, N.Y. Born in New Lexington, Ohio, the eldest and last surviving child of the late Charles Lester and Lucy (Hoodlett) McKee, she was a poet, birder, naturalist and gardener, physical therapist, and teacher. She graduated from Kent State Normal School and the D.T. Watson School Of Physical Therapy, and was particularly proud of her years of service as a lieutenant in the Army Medical Service Corps during World War II. Widely published as a poet, she was awarded second prize in the 1969 Yankee Magazine poetry contest for her poem “Going Home On The Mass Pike.” She was also undoubtedly one of the last surviving eyewitnesses to the 1925 crash of the great rigid airship, USS Shenandoah, in a neighbor's field near Ava, in southeastern Ohio. She moved to Brattleboro in 1983, and was a 27-year resident of Melrose Terrace, editing the newsletter for a number of years and assisting with the bookmobile. Memorial information: The family encourages all so inclined to make memorial donations to Thompson House, 80 Maple St., Brattleboro, VT 05302.
• George Kenneth Holden, Jr., 75, of East Dover. Died June 1 at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Husband of Irene Holland Holden. Father of Kenneth George Holden of Wardsboro and Cindy Holden of Brattleboro. Stepfather of Rick Beam and his wife, Michelle, of Keene, N.H., and Michael Beam and his partner, Amy Walsh, of West Dover. Brother of Judy Holden of West Townshend. Born in Andover, the son of the late George Kenneth and Thelma (Forbes) Holden, he attended schools in Townshend, graduating from Leland & Gray High School. In his younger years, he learned to be a woodsman with his father and did tree work in New York City. He worked most of his life as a carpenter and owned and operated Holden Builders and Holden Spa & Sauna. He served in the Army, and was stationed in Germany. He loved riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles and did so throughout most of the 1960s. He enjoyed reading and liked traveling with his wife to such places as Cancun, Portugal, Madeira, and Antigua. He liked spending time with his family (unless they were bouncing off the walls ) and he enjoyed following the Red Sox, Patriots, and Bruins. Memorial information: A memorial service was held June 10 at Covey & Allen Funeral Home in Wilmington. Donations to the Windham County Humane Society, P.O. Box 397, Brattleboro, VT 05302.
• Yohanna Sally McDermott, 91, of Athens. Died June 3 at her home. Wife of the late Charles White and James McDermott. Mother of Evelyn Trimble and the late Linda Whidden. Stepmother of Fred White. Sister of Juanita Neathawk and the late Walfreda Knight. Born in Lexington, Mass., the daughter of the late David W. and Evelyn (Turner) Karlson, she graduated from Lexington High School in 1938. She then graduated from Castleton State Normal School with a teaching degree and earned her Master's in Education from Keene State College. She taught in Wardsboro, Brookline, and 10 years in her hometown of Athens in a one-room schoolhouse. There, she taught grades 1 through 8, during which time she was selected as Vermont Teacher of the Year. She later taught in Grafton and later retired from the Bellows Falls Central Elementary School, ending 38 years of teaching. She always enjoyed visiting with former students, and eating out at local restaurants with family and friends. Memorial information: A memorial service was held June 7 at the Community Christian Church in Athens. Donations to the Community Christian Church, P.O. Box 7, Cambridgeport, VT 05141.
• Margaret “Mardie” Ratheau, 73, of Marlboro. Died May 29 at home from breast cancer after a courageous battle. Wife of Alain Ratheau. Mother of Benjamin and Yali Ratheau. Born in Boston, daughter of the late Dr. Somers Sturgis and Francis Sturgis, she resided in Cambridge, Mass., and West Dover, and attended Shady Hill Elementary School and Beaver Girls School. At Mount Holyoke College, she majored in Political Science, and then moved to New York City where she studied childhood education and taught at the Reese School. She received her M.A. in Family Counseling from Antioch University in the early 1980s, after which she joined the Brattleboro Family Institute (now Brattleboro Family Therapy Associates) as a psychotherapist. She remained deeply dedicated to this career until, with great reluctance, her health forced her to retire in 2011. She worked tirelessly for social justice and peace movements throughout her life, including single payer health care, anti-war efforts, and the anti-nuclear initiative, Safe and Green. She was devoted to her family and dear friends. Both her love of gardening and her fabulous cooking were pure expressions of her nurturing and creativity. She seemed to make each and every soul she encountered feel valued and understood. Memorial information: A celebration of her life will be held Labor Day weekend and people who knew her are welcome to come by. Donations to Citizens Awareness Network, P.O. Box 83, Shelburne Falls, MA 01370.
• Charlotte M. Stocker, 72, of Bellows Falls. Died June 7 at Pine Heights in Brattleboro. Wife of the late James Stocker. Mother of Donald Stocker of Bellows Falls, Keith Stocker of Claremont, N.H., Heidi Connolly of North Carolina, and Jennifer Stocker of Berlin, Vt. Sister of Ronald Masure of Sydney, Maine, Donald Masure of Rockingham, Frederick Masure of Athol, Mass., Marilyn Beam of Ascutney, and Joyce Richards of Rockingham. Born in Peacham, the daughter of Louis and Margaret (Grady) Masure, she was a 1958 graduate of Bellows Falls High School and worked in area restaurants. She was owner and operator of the former Charlotte's Family Restaurant in North Walpole, N.H. She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary and enjoyed puzzles, going out to eat, visiting with her relatives and friends, and especially spending time with her grandchildren. Memorial information: A funeral service was held on June 12 at Fenton & Hennessey Funeral Home in Bellows Falls.
• Anne Worthington Y (formerly Yarosevich), 68, of Bellows Falls. Died June 2 after a long, but very private battle, with cancer. Former wife of the late Lenny Yarosevich of Chester, Vt. Sister of Arthur Little Worthington Jr. and his wife, Kathie, of Melvin Village, N.H., Paul Hill Worthington and his wife, Corinne Zimmermann, of Watertown, Mass., and Cynthia Worthington Conant and her husband, Stuart V. Conant, of Manchester, Mass. Born in New York City, the daughter of the late Burdeene (Irvin) Worthington and Arthur Little Worthington, she grew up in Islip, N.Y., and then moved with her parents to Brussels, where she attended the Academie des Beaux-Arts, and then moved to Paris for ten years where she was a bilingual personal assistant at both Morgan Stanley and The American Chamber of Commerce. She later moved to New York City before coming to Vermont in 1979 to pursue a more peaceful and pastoral existence from the busy pace of city life. She renewed her interest in art, developed an interest in gardening and became a locally noted poet. Memorial information: A celebration of her life and artwork will be held in Bellows Falls on June 16 in a studio space in the Exner Block, 7 Canal St., Bellows Falls, from 3-7 p.m. Selections of her art will be offered with the proceeds going to the Rockingham Arts and Museum Project (RAMP), which supports local artists. For more information, contact RAMP at 802-463-3252.
Births
• In Brattleboro (Memorial Hospital), May 17, 2012, a son, David Ralph Twitchell, to Melissa (Emery) and David Michael Twitchell of Whitingham; grandson to David Arthur and Pamela Twitchell, and Douglas and Brenda Emery.
• In Brattleboro (Memorial Hospital), May 8, 2012, a daughter, Saza May Wilson, to Robert Wilson and Ellenka Wasung-Lott of Townshend; granddaughter to Stephen and Marjorie Wilson of Simi Valley, California and Howard Lott and Michalina Wasung of Townshend; great-granddaughter to Jean Warden of Simi Valley, Claudine Wilson of St. Georges, Bermuda and Norman and Junellen Lott of Marathon, Florida.
College news
• The following local residents graduated from Colby-Sawyer College in New London, N.H., on May 5: Lindsey Elizabeth Brown of East Dover graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Child Development and Meridyth Lynne Burbank of South Londonderry graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design. Brown was also named to the college's Dean's List for the Spring 2012 semester.
• Monica Speranza of Vernon received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
• Elizabeth Degnon of Whitingham has made the Dean's List for the Spring 2012 semester at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.
• The following local residents were named to the Honors List for the Spring 2012 semester at Johnson State College: Nichole Gagnon, a junior from Brattleboro, and Nina Markiw, a senior from West Brattleboro, made the President's List; Jessica Brodeur, a senior from Brookline, Brendon Vincent, a junior from Stratton, and Jasmine Ziter, a sophomore from Putney, all made the Dean's List.
• Ryan Thomas of Brattleboro, a senior English major in the College of Liberal Arts/Sciences, and Ryan Gagnon-Burch of Putney, a sophomore Art and Design major in the School of Art and Design, both were named to the Spring 2012 Dean's List at Alfred University in Alfred, N.Y.
• Livia Kelly of Putney, Jonah Stoller of Brattleboro, and Megan Young of Guilford were named to the Spring 2012 Dean's List at Beloit College in Beloit, Wis.
• Erica L. McAllister of Putney, a member of the Class of 2012, and Kerry A. Howard of Londonderry, a member of the Class of 2012, were named to the Spring 2012 Dean's List at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass.
• Alexander C. Breau, a sophomore computer science major from Vernon, has been named to the President's List at Western New England University in Springfield, Mass., for the spring semester of 2012.
School news
• Two teams and an alternate team of students represented Bellows Falls Union High School, along with their Environmental Science teacher and coach Susan Steiner, at the state's Envirothon Competition held recently at Shelburne Farms in Shelburne.
Students who competed in this all-day event were tested on their knowledge in categories related to Vermont's environment: Wildlife, Forests, Soils, and Aquatics. In addition, each team had to do research about a current environmental issue, prior to the competition. They then presented their findings and recommendations in an oral report to a panel of judges. Alternate teams competed in an alternates division where students competed in all of the categories except for the oral presentation.
At the end of the day, Bellows Falls took first place in Forestry and second place overall, while the alternates team placed first in their division. The BFUHS team competed against other teams from high schools throughout Vermont. The research and preparation for this event was done over the course of the year through participation in the high school's Envirothon Club.
Students that participated included Chace Perkins, Drew Guild, Tori Bissell, Brittany Moyna, James Morton, Sara Engerman, Jacob Hodsden, Kaitlin Terry, Emma Moyna, Lydia Pedigo, Ashley Palmisano, Jonah Bolotin, and Dan Osterholt.