College news
• Emma Maki of Putney graduated from Colby-Sawyer College in New London, N.H., on May 10 as a member of the Wesson Honors Program. Maki majored in nursing. The Wesson Honors Program is an intensive academic, cultural and social opportunities for the most motivated and capable Colby-Sawyer students who combine a solid work ethic and natural ability with intellectual curiosity. Maki, Sarah Harlow of Putney, and Amy Blazej of Windham were also all named to the Colby-Sawyer Dean's List for the spring 2014 semester.
• Davin Freeman of Vernon, earned a B.S. in Business Administration/Management cum laude from Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C., during its commencement ceremony on May 10. Freeman was among 1,081 undergraduate and graduate candidates for degrees.
• Castleton State College student-athlete Sarah Clark of Guilford was recently named the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Women's Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year. Clark, who ranked second in the league with 15 caused turnovers, led the Castleton defense which ranked first in goals against (26) and caused turnovers (91). Clark was also selected to the NAC's Women's Lacrosse All-Conference Team.
• The following local students were named to the Dean's List at Champlain College in Burlington: Caitlin Durkin, an early childhood/elementary education major from Brattleboro; Cuyler Northup-Cunningham, a communication major from Brattleboro; and Aubrie Gillam, a creative media major from Putney.
School news
• Daniel Fooks, a Brattleboro senior, has been named the Windham Regional Career Center's April 2014 Student of the Month. He has been a business major at the Career Center and has additionally served as a student ambassador for the school. He was nominated for this award by Betsy Gentile, the Career Center's Adult Education Coordinator. He has been an active Career Center student in a number of areas. He is the vice president of social media for the Career Center's Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter. He has interned this year with Mondo Mediaworks, a Brattleboro-based digital marketing agency, where he's contributed regularly to the Career Center's online blog site. Additionally, he has taught an evening course for the Career Center's adult education program, entitled “Maximize Your Electronic Phones and Tablets.” He ran this course as two separate classes, one for iPhone/iPad users and the other for those with Android devices. He will be graduating this year having also earned 15 college credits through the Windham Regional Collegiate High School's dual enrollment program, in which Career Center and Brattleboro Union High School students are able to earn both high school and college credits for certain coursework taken at these two schools. He will be attending Philadelphia University in the fall with an intended major of international business.
Transitions
• Donna Rathbun of Guilford was recently promoted to branch manager of the Brattleboro Savings & Loan main office, located on Main Street. Rathbun has been with the bank since 1994, where she was the manager of the bank's office located at the Brattleboro Union High School. During her 15 years there, she taught more than 400 students about banking, work ethic, teller procedures, customer service and various other skills. She continues to work with the faculty at the Windham Regional Career Center. Prior to joining BS&L, she held positions in the Consumer Loan Department at Vermont National Bank and was a consumer loan officer and assistant manager of the Indirect Lending Department at First Vermont Bank. She is a graduate of Brattleboro Union High School and has taken numerous courses through the American Bankers Association and the Community College of Vermont.
• Main Street Arts in Saxtons River recently elected five new members to its board of directors. Elected were Kate Aldrich, Rick Cowan, Beverly Dunbar, Frank Sibley and Kristen Swartwout. Officers elected were Peter Stolley and Gina Cote, board co-chairs; Carol Buchdahl, secretary; and Dunbar, treasurer. Outgoing board members are James Macri, Jeff Dunbar, Robert Campbell, Owen Dodge, Erin Hennessey, Jill Newton, and Susie Peters.
• On May 3, the Brattleboro Lodge of Freemasons installed a new slate of officers for the year 2014 to 2015. The installing officers were Worshipful Past Master Robert Baldauf as installing Master, and Worshipful Past Master Steve Farrington as Installing Marshall. Those being installed were Jonathon Hall; Worshipful Master, Jeffrey Anderson; Senior Warden, Edward Morse; Junior Warden, Philip Bailey; Treasurer, Brian L. Carley; Secretary, Heath Kurra; Senior Deacon, Kris Johnston; Junior Deacon, Robert Baldauf; Marshall, Brent LaDeau; Chaplain, Seth Pichette; Senior Steward, Ryan Muller; and Junior Steward, Marshall Patton.
Obituaries
• Ethel Blodgett Darling Campbell, 102, formerly of Brattleboro. Died May 8 at Vernon Hall Assisted Living, where she has been a resident since August 2013. Wife of the late Oscar L. Darling and the late William R. Campbell. Mother of O. Leonard Darling and his wife, Barbara, of Lincoln, Mass., and the late Patricia A. Darling Paquin and Grayce A. Darling Grant. Stepmother of the late Anderson “Sandy” Campbell. Sister of the late Harold, Ernestine and Earle Blodgett. Born in Vernon on the family farm, the third of four children born to the late Palmer Blodgett and Royal Ernest Blodgett, she attended a one-room schoolhouse in Vernon and graduated from Brattleboro High School in 1930. In high school, she was a member of the Business Practices Club and after graduation attended Bay Path College, graduating in 1932. When she returned to Vernon, her father bought her a car in exchange for her milking cows each morning before driving to Brattleboro to work at the Barrows Coal Co. In 1938, she married Mr. Darling in the living room of the house that he and his father built for them. This house remained her home for the next 75 years. Mr. Darling died in 1950 in an accident while driving home from work in the Rutland area repairing phone lines after “The Great Appalachian Storm” in November of that year. Soon after his death, she went to work, first at Oak Grove School preparing school lunches, and later at the Brattleboro Union High School where she worked as secretary for 24 years, retiring in 1976. The Class of 1956 dedicated its yearbook to her “for being so patient and understanding…For always being ready to lend a cheerful word,” an honor she cherished throughout her life. In 1958 she married Mr. Campbell, a widower, a town selectman, and owner of Campbell's Hardware Store. He died in 1989. She was devoted to her family and friends. Her guiding philosophy was the Golden Rule and the Ten Commandments. She lived independently in her home until she was 101. She kept her car and driver's license until she was past 100. She wrote the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles a note explaining why she was relinquishing her license, and received a nice note in return saying that she could reinstate her license in the future if she wanted. She was a member of St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Brattleboro, the Bingham Chapter OES and a member of the Ladies Shrine Niles Court #94. Memorial information: A funeral service was held May 17 at St. Michael's Episcopal Church, with burial at Meetinghouse Hill Cemetery where the Order of the Eastern Star, Bingham Chapter #30 conducted a memorial service. Donations to Vernon Advent Christian Home Activities Fund, 61 Greenway Drive, Vernon, VT 05354. Arrangements were under the direction of the Atamaniuk Funeral Home.
• Patricia M. Colburn, 68, of Brattleboro. Died May 12 at Rutland Health & Rehab Center. Wife of Wilfred Colburn. Sister of the late Pauline LaValley and Virginia Reynolds. Born in Brattleboro, the daughter of the late Lloyd and Alice V. (Cote) Macie, she was a lifelong Brattleboro resident and was educated in the local school system. She worked as an office manager for Edward Jones Financial until her retirement. She enjoyed macrame, gardening, and cooking, and was an avid NASCAR fan. Memorial information: A funeral service was held May 17 at Ker-Westerlund Funeral Home in Brattleboro. Donations to Rescue Inc., P.O. Box 593, Brattleboro, VT 05302.
• Richard P. Gavoni, Sr., 74, of Brattleboro. Died May 12 in Brattleboro. Husband of Lynn M. Kuralt. Former husband of Nancy House of Belchertown, Mass. Father of Cheryl Anne Dennette and her husband, Joseph, of Granby, Mass.; Richard P. Gavoni, Jr. and his wife, Grace, of Ludlow, Mass.; and Wendy J. Salvador and her husband, Jon, of Provincetown, Mass. Brother of the late Robert Gavoni. Born in Springfield, Vt., the son of the late Richard F. and Edith (Betera) Gavoni, he was educated in the Springfield, Mass., school system, graduating from Technical High School. He was the owner and operator of Mechanical Insulation Contractors. Later, he was an innkeeper along with his wife Lynn at The Crosby House in Brattleboro. He enjoyed gardening, traveling and was an avid fan of classic and hot rod cars. Memorial information: A memorial service was held May 18 at the Windham Community Chapel, 850 U.S. 5, Dummerston, VT 05301. Donations to Focus on the Family, 8605 Explorer Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.
• Jean Marie Demarini Irwin, 70, of Hinsdale, N.H. Died May 14 at Westwood Care Center in Keene, N.H., after a period of declining health. Mother of Richard L. Irwin and his wife, Ana, of Jamestown, R.I.; and Christine I. Dowley and her husband, Timothy, of Hinsdale. Sister of Louise Ghilani and Carol Wolfe and her husband, Frederick, all of Hinsdale. Born in Framingham, Mass., the daughter of the late Rita Long and Louis Demarini, she attended school in Ashland, Mass. She had many jobs over the years. She retired from the Brattleboro Retreat as a member of the food service in 2010. Prior, she had worked in the family business at L. Demarini, Fruit and Groceries of Framingham. She liked to play cards, work in her flower gardens, and was an avid photographer. When time permitted, she would take family vacations to Maine and Canada. Memorial information: A funeral Mass was held May 20 at St. Joseph's Church in Hinsdale. Burial was private. Donations to Hospice and Community Services, 312 Marlboro St. Keene, NH. 03431. Arrangements were under the direction of Cheshire Family Funeral Chapel in Keene.
• Louise Penney Morse, 100, formerly of North Westminster. Died May 12, just eight days shy of her 101st birthday, in Middleburg Heights, Ohio, where she had moved to be near her daughter. Wife of the late Emory M. Morse for 47 years. Mother of Penney Winter and her husband, Robert, of Berea, Ohio, and Susan Holden and her husband, Mark, of Middletown, Del. Sister of the late Joseph Penney. Born on her grandfather's farm in Belgrade, Maine, the daughter of the late Justin and Mary Banks Penney, the family moved to Bath, Maine, when she was 10, and later to Groton, Conn., where she was graduated from the Women's Memorial Institute (WMI) in New London. She received a B.S.S. degree from Bryant College in Providence, R.I., in 1932. After working at the Anaconda Wire & Cable Co., in Pawtucket, R.I., she returned to Groton and was employed at the New England Classical Tool & Tube Co. until her marriage in 1946. Following her marriage, the Morses moved to Wyckoff, N.J., where she raised her family and was employed in the payroll department of the Ramapo Regional School District. She and her husband moved to North Westminster in 1973, following his retirement. She was a longtime member of the New England Business and Professional Women's Association, the Order of the Eastern Star, and of the William French Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In Vermont, she was an active member of Christ's Church in Saxtons River and its handbell choir, and of Churchwomen United, which she served for many years as treasurer. She was also the longtime treasurer of the North Westminster Water Co-op. She was a member of the Alzheimer's Disease Survivors' Group and a volunteer at the Kurn Hattin Library. Memorial information: Her body has been cremated, and a memorial service will be held later this summer at Christ's Church in Saxtons River, with a reception to follow in the church's fellowship hall. Burial will be in the Saxtons River Cemetery. Donations to Christ's Church, P.O. Box 649 Saxtons River, VT 05154.
• Cecilia Clare Flynn Trombley, 90, of Brattleboro. Died May 11 at Pine Heights Nursing Home, following an extended illness. Wife of the late Maynard Peter Trombley for 58 years. Mother of Jeanne Barbara Stevens of Brattleboro and the late Patricia Ann McCarthy and Deborah Clare Montgomery. Sister of Margaret Wolfe of Largo, Fla. and the late Agnes Flynn, her twin sister, and Sheila Ann Kelley, Frances Terrell, Madelyn Moore, Mary Geiger, and Thomas Flynn. Born in Brattleboro, the seventh of eight children of the late Patrick and Mary McNamee Flynn, she was a communicant of St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church and attended St. Michael's Parochial School. She graduated from St. Michael's High School, Class of 1942, as class treasurer. Following graduation, Cecilia worked as a bookkeeper at the former Palmer Dry Cleaning Plant, then located on Elm Street. Later, she worked at the former Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates, located on Cotton Mill Hill, working in the spinning room. A devout Catholic, she was a former member of the Blessed Virgin Mary Sodality, served on the Parish School Board, and sang with the St. Michael's Church Choir and funeral choir. She also served as a Eucharistic Minister since 1979. A former member of the St. Michael's High School orchestra as first violinist, over the years, she played several solos at the midnight and Christmas Day Masses. She was a former member of the Green Mountain Cloggers. Cecilia was extremely proud of her Irish heritage, noting that both of her parents came from County Clare and County Louth, Ireland. She enjoyed playing the violin and piano, doing crossword puzzles, reading, attending to her flower gardens, and sharing food with family members. Her family was always the center of her life. She was a faithful and devoted wife and loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend to many. She will be remembered for her spirit of friendship and pleasant personality. Memorial information: A funeral Mass was held on May 15 at St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, with committal rites and burial in St. Michael's Parish Cemetery, where she will be laid to rest next to her husband. Donations to St. Michael's Catholic School, 48 Walnut St., Brattleboro, VT 05301, in care of Elaine Beam, principal; or to Rescue Inc., P.O. Box 593, Brattleboro, VT 05302. Arrangements were under the direction of the Atamaniuk Funeral Home.