Obituaries
Editor's note: The Commons will publish brief biographical information for citizens of Windham County and others, on request, as community news, free of charge.
• Francesca “Frances” Dolan, 95, formerly of Salem, Mass. Died Feb. 4 at Thompson House in Brattleboro. Wife of the late Charles A. Dolan for 56 years. Mother of Claire Markey and her husband, Frank, of Brattleboro, and Richard Dolan and his wife, Sandra, of Searsport, Maine. Sister of Louigi Actis of Peabody, Mass., and the late Lena Cares and Angelo Actis. The daughter of the late Antonia and Giovanni Actis, she was born in Gonic, N.H., and grew up in the Cape Cod area before eventually settling with her family in Peabody. Following her marriage, she moved to Salem, Mass., where she resided most of her adult life. For many years, she was a bank teller at Salem Savings Bank. Memorial information: No information provided.
• Arland E. Francis, 80, of Winchester, N.H. Died Feb. 3 at Applewood Care and Rehabilitation Center in Winchester. Husband of Arvilla M. (Hudson) Francis of Winchester. Former husband of Virginia Boyd. Father of Michael A. Francis and his wife, Maryann, of Hamilton, Ohio; Ronald E. Francis of Brattleboro; Greg T. Francis and his wife, Elaine, of Bellows Falls; Karen A. Mitchell and her husband, Matthew, of Alexander, Maine; Lisa M. Lauder and her husband, Scott, of Smithfield, Va.; Jeffrey Miller and his wife, Robyn, of West Chesterfield, N.H.; Lew Miller and his wife, Debra, of West Chesterfield; Jacie Root and her husband, Peter, of Guilford; Rochelle Mitchell land her husband, Peter, of Chesterfield; and Julia Devine and her husband, Tim, of Jacksonville, Fla. Brother of Bonnie Barrows of Brunswick, Maine. Born in Sheffield, Vt., the son of the late Edward H. and Myrtle A. (Martin) Francis, his family later moved to Hinsdale, N.H., and then to Brattleboro. He received his GED and graduated from Rutland Business College. In September 1950, he enlisted in the Army and served during the Korean Conflict until May 1952. He worked for the Defense Department at the Naval Radio Station in Cutler, Maine. He later was the manager at Gasland in Rockingham, and later worked at the state liquor store in Ludlow, Vt. Prior to his retirement in 1993, Mr. Francis was a group home caregiver with The Alliance in Claremont, N.H. for several years. He was a member of the Grace Community Evangelical Free Church in Spofford, N.H. He was a former member of American Legion Post 5 in Brattleboro and the Disabled American Veterans. He enjoyed vegetable gardening, hunting and fishing. Memorial information: Funeral services took place Feb. 7 in Grace Community Evangelical Free Church. Burial with military honors will be held in the spring in the West Chesterfield Cemetery. Donations to the American Cancer Society, c/o Norma Jeanne Pinney, P.O. Box 87, West Swanzey, N.H. 03469-0087, or to Grace Community Evangelical Free Church, P.O. Box 120, Spofford, NH 03462-0120.
• Ina R. Gilson, 73, of Vernon. Died Feb. 2 at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Mother of Wallace E. Holden Jr. of Aiken, S.C., Daniel Holden of Guilford, Kenneth Holden of Guilford, Wayne Holden of Hinsdale N.H., and the late Dale R. Holden. Sister of Benjamin Young of Fairfax, Beverly Lehane of Hinsdale, N.H., and the late Luna Wilkins, Martha Benjamin, Audrey Moore, Ronald Young, and William Young Jr. Born in Jeffersonville, the daughter of the late William and Clyda Young, she worked as a nurse's aide at local nursing homes. Memorial information: A memorial service will be held in the spring.
• Sheila Mary Groeger, 67, of Brattleboro. Died Feb. 8 at her home. Wife of the late Christopher Peter Groeger. Mother of Christopher P. Groeger II and his wife, Victoria, of Brattleboro. Born in Brattleboro, the daughter of the late Judge Edward J. and Adeline (Angier) Shea, she was a graduate of Brattleboro Union High School, Class of 1962. She had been employed at Lyon Travel in Brattleboro as an agent with the group division. She retired in October 2010, following 40 years of faithful service. For many years, she volunteered at the Thompson House Nursing Home assisting in the activities department. The nursing home was very special to her, since her mother served as executive secretary of the facility when it was known as the Brattleboro Mutual Aid Association. She enjoyed visits to Florida and the coast of Maine, cooking, word games and time shared with her family, especially her grandchildren. Memorial information: A funeral Mass was held Feb. 13 at St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church in Brattleboro. Burial of her cremated remains will follow in Meetinghouse Hill Cemetery, where she will be laid to rest next to her husband. Donations to the Thompson House Activities Fund, 80 Maple Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301. Messages of condolence may be sent to Atamaniuk Funeral Home at www. atamaniuk.com.
• Eric Leonard Hellinger, 85, of Brattleboro. Died Feb. 7 at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital following a lengthy illness. Husband of Lillian F. Healy for nearly 59 years. Mother of Pauline Gardner of Dorset and Lois Tappan of Gainesville, Fla. Brother of the late Irmgard Dreher. Born in Mosbach, Germany, the son of the late Ludwig and Paulina (Housler) Hellinger, he came to the United States with his family at age 2 ½ when settled in Brooklyn, N.Y. He was raised and educated in New York, attending East New York Vocational School. A World War II veteran, he served in the Navy from 1944 until his honorable discharge in 1946. He became a naturalized citizen on Nov. 6, 1944 while serving in the Navy. For 26 years, he was employed in the subway maintenance department for the New York Transit Authority, where he retired from in 1985. He enjoyed horse racing, following economic and environmental issues, and attending family get-togethers. He especially enjoyed his family pets throughout the years. Memorial information: A memorial service will be held Thursday, Feb. 23, at 11 a.m., at the First United Methodist Church with Rev. Cheryl Meachen, pastor, officiating. A reception will follow the service in the church fellowship hall. Donations to the Windham County Humane Society, P.O. Box 397, Brattleboro, VT 05301. Messages of condolence may be sent to Atamaniuk Funeral Home at www. atamaniuk.com.
• The Rev. Edward Hanson, 104, of Cambridgeport. Died Feb. 4 at McGirr Nursing Home in Bellows Falls, one day before his 105th birthday. Husband of the Edna Rhoades Hanson. Father of the late David Hanson, and his wife, Elizabeth. Grandfather of Naomi Hanson Luce and Timothy Hanson. Born in New Britain, Conn, the son of the Paul and Lena (Leide) Hanson. He attended Columbia Bible Institute and had an Honor Doctorate from Andersonville Baptist Seminary. During his early years, he delivered milk and produce by horse and buggy. He entered the Pastorate in the early 1930s. He was a pastor in New Britain, Torrington and Southington, Conn., and Tarrytown, N.Y., before coming to the Community Christian Church in Athens in 1967, where he served until 1987. He stayed on as Pastor Emeritus of Community Christian Church. He was a member of the New England Fellowship in Boston. Memorial information: A memorial service will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m., at the Community Christian Church in Athens, with burial in the Valley Cemetery in Athens. Donations to the CCC Missions, P.O. Box 7, Cambridgeport, VT 05141.
• Susan Quilhot Howe, 70, of Brattleboro. Died Feb. 2. Wife of Russell Howe. Mother of Brian Howe of Hinsdale, N.H., and Christopher Howe and his wife, Christine, of Somerville, Mass. Born in Amsterdam, N.Y., the daughter of the late Stephen Quilhot and Elizabeth Wendell Quilhot, her family moved to Brattleboro in 1951 when Susan was in fourth grade. She remained a resident of Brattleboro ever since. She inherited her parent's love of skiing, and skied competitively on the Brattleboro Union High School ski team. She was a member of the junior ski patrol, the high school tennis team, and the West Brattleboro Congregational Church choir. She graduated from BUHS in 1959, and was soon employed by First Vermont Bank as a bookkeeper. She was a devoted homemaker and mother, and kept the books for her husband's successful general contracting business. In 1982, she returned to work for Vermont National Bank at the operations center on Putney Road, where she remained employed until her retirement in 2007. She is remembered as a dedicated employee and compassionate coworker. Her love of Maine and the ocean led her to purchase a second home in Kennebunk in 2000, where she spent much of her time during the warmer months of her retirement. Her other pastimes and interests included reading, gardening, bowling, and a deep fondness for dogs. She supported numerous charities, and participated in walk-a-thons and bike-a-thons in Brattleboro and Boston in support of the American Cancer Society and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Memorial information: A memorial service took place Feb. 11 at Green Mountain Chapel of the Christian & Missionary Alliance in Brattleboro. Respecting her final wishes, she will be laid to rest off the shore of Goose Rocks Beach in Maine this summer. Donations to the American Cancer Society, Vermont Division, 121 Connor Way, Suite 240, Williston, VT 05495.
• Odessa Shafer Miller, 89, of Bellows Falls. Died Feb. 6 at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, N.H. Wife of the late Max Miller for 63 years. Mother of Thomas Miller and his wife, Chris, of Bellows Falls; Robert Miller of Warren; and Marilyn Frost and her husband, Thomas, of Newton, Mass. Sister of the late William, Houston, John, and Thomas Shafer, and Mae Peck. Born in Smoot, W.Va., the daughter of the late John and Annie (Adkins) Shafer, she graduated from Rupert High School in 1941. She later graduated from Wesleyan College (now Florida Southern College) in 1987 with a B.S. in fine arts. The Millers were the owners of the Shopper and News Review in Bellows Falls for more than 25 years. She was active in the First Baptist Church, American Cancer Society, and Boy Scouts. She organized the first Parent-Teacher Association in Bellows Falls and served as its president for many years. During the late 1940s, she was manager of the Armstrong Restaurant in Bellows Falls. Memorial information: A graveside service was held Feb. 9 at Oak Hill Cemetery in Bellows Falls. Donations to St. Jude's Children Research Hospital.
• William J. Sylvester, 74, of Charlestown, N.H. Died Feb. 2 at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. Husband of Juanita Matthews Sylvester for nearly 55 years. Father of Joseph and his wife, Katherine, of Hinsdale, N.H.; Kimberly Pellerin and her husband, Charles, of Claremont, N.H., and Della Fuller and her husband, Raymond, of Charlestown. Brother of David and his wife, Joyce, of Springfield; Edward and his wife, Joan, of Walpole, N.H.; and Anne Brown and her husband Richard of North Walpole, N.H. Born in Bellows Falls, the son of the late Joseph and Elizabeth (Szuch) Sylvester, he attended school in North Walpole and was a 1955 graduate of Bellows Falls High School. He worked as a machinist for Fellows Gear Shaper in Springfield for 35 years, retiring in 1999. He also served in the Vermont Army National Guard. He was a life member of the Elks and enjoyed hunting, fishing, and camping with family and friends. He liked to read, and really got a kick out of a good joke. Memorial information: A celebration of his life will be held in the spring at a time to be announced. Donations to BPOE 1619, P.O. Box 367, Bellows Falls, VT 05101, or to the Oncology Clinic, Springfield Hospital, 25 Ridgewood Rd., Springfield, VT 05156.
• Gordon I. Ulmer Jr., 79, of Lyme, Conn. Died Feb. 4. Former husband of Sandra (McKeon) Ulmer of Newark, Vt. Father of Gordon Ulmer III and his wife, Audrey, of Lyme, and Craig Ulmer and his wife, Janine, of Shrewsbury, Mass. Brother of the late Shirley Olivo, Judy Valente, and Army First Lt. Jan Allen Ulmer, who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1968. Born in Brattleboro, the son of the Gordon and Margaret (Nichols) Ulmer, he was proud of his Vermont family roots where he, along with his father and his brother Jan and the Barber cousins, was a locally familiar ski jumper and a New England champion. Moving to Connecticut in 1957, he joined the Connecticut Bank and Trust Co. (CBT), where he ultimately served as chairman and CEO. He later served as president of the Bank of New England Corp., the holding company of CBT, from 1988 until his retirement in December 1990. He also served on the board of directors for the Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., Hartford Life Inc., Rayonier Inc., and the Old State House Association. He was honorary chairman of the Sammy Davis Jr. Greater Hartford Open in 1982. He is a graduate of Middlebury College, the American Institute of Banking, and the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration Advanced Management Program. Memorial information: Services will be private. Donations to Shriners Hospitals for Children, Connecticut Hospice, and the United Churches of Durham, Conn.
• Cynthia Jayne Ward, 66, of Deering, N.H. Died at Merrimack Community Hospice House in Merrimack, N.H. on Feb. 1 from injuries sustained on Aug. 25, 2011, while cycling in northern Quebec. Wife of Robert L. Fuller. Brother of Wesley T. Ward and sister-in-law Wenda Tai of Cambridge, Mass. Born in Bellows Falls, the daughter of Beatrice Jane Taylor of Brattleboro and the late Rev. Parker Ward of Boston. As a young girl, she spent parts of her summers with her aunt, Madge Hamilton, and her older cousins, Ruth and Ed Hamilton, and their children at Whetstone Valley Farm in West Brattleboro. A graduate of Iowa Wesleyan College and Boston University with a Master of Education in Rehabilitation Counseling, she completed course work for a Ph.D. in geriatrics at San Diego State University. After working with disabled adults for many years, she launched “The Flower Basket,” a sole-person flower arranging enterprise in Cambridge, Mass. She moved to Los Angeles in 1988, where she worked as a specialist in workers' compensation and rehabilitation. She and her husband moved to New Hampshire in 1998, where she worked for Cascade Rehabilitation Counseling and, in 2003 , founded Chrysalis Case Management. She and her husband, whom she met on a cycling tour from Oregon to San Francisco, enjoyed touring America and many countries on tandem or single bicycles. She was active in professional organizations, wrote poetry, sang in the Monadnock Choir, taught herself weaving, gardened, and enjoyed keeping up with her many cousins, friends, and colleagues. She was a loyal and loving caregiver for her mother. Memorial information: A celebration of her life will be held at Deering Community Church on April 14 at 1 p.m.
• Flora A. Wilder, 79, of Hinsdale, N.H. Died Feb. 9. Wife of the late Donald Wilder. Mother of Rick Weisman and his wife Elizabeth of Sterling, Mass. Stepmother of Ronald Wilder of Guilford and Sherrie Labbe of Meriden, Conn. Sister of Ruth Minch of Swanzey, N.H. Born in Hinsdale, the daughter of Herbert and Hazel (Perham) Webster, she worked for many years at Erving Paper. She was a loving and devoted wife and mother. Memorial information: A funeral service was held Feb. 13 at Ker-Westerlund Funeral Home in Brattleboro. Graveside committal services and interment will take place in Round Hill Cemetery in Townshend at a later date.
College news
• The following local students were named to the Dean's List for the fall 2011 semester at Johnson State College: Meghan Hopkins, a junior from Brattleboro; Jessica Brodeur, a senior from Brookline; Shelby DavisLane, a freshman from Dummerston; Jasmine Ziter, a sophomore from Putney; and Amanda Bolduc, a freshman from Wilmington.
• The following local students received academic honors for the fall 2011 semester at the University of New Hampshire: Quentin Young of Westminster Station, Nicholas Haskell, Robert Meyer, and Rebecca Procter of Brattleboro, and Amanda Oles of Vernon all earned Highest Honors. Kvehl McDermott of Putney earned High Honors, while Drummond Biles of Brattleboro, Ashley Meyer of Brookline, and David Velazquez of Vernon all earned Honors.
• The following local students were named to the Dean's List for the fall 2011 semester at the Community College of Vermont: Ashley Frost, Tanya Mayhew, Sabrina Nijim, Robin Shannon, and Kristina Willette, all of Brattleboro; Susan Nichols of Newfane; and Stacey Woods of Whitingham.
• Daniel S. Elliott of Brookline, a Mechanical Engineering Technology major, was named to the President's List for the fall 2011 semester at the State University of New York-Canton.
• Nathan Nichols, a sophomore Physics major from Newfane, and Katherine Derby, a senior Business Administration major from Brattleboro, were both named to the Dean's List for the fall 2011 semester at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y.
• Jonah Stoller of Brattleboro has been named to Beloit (Wis.) College's Dean's List for the fall 2011 semester.
• The following local students were named to the Dean's List for the fall 2011 semester at Ithaca (N.Y.) College: Jenna Jordan of Londonderry, a freshman Music Education major; Jacob Huston of Brookline, a freshman History major; and Chauncey Jones of Wardsboro, a sophomore English major.