College news
• Emma Li of Brattleboro was named to the Dean's List for the spring 2021 semester at Simmons University in Boston.
• Miles Anton of West Dover and Ginny Ware of Westminster were named to the President's List for the spring 2021 semester at Community College of Vermont.
• The Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts & Interdisciplinary Studies at Emerson College honored various students during its annual achievement awards ceremony at the end of the spring 2021 semester. Mikee Tobin of Marlboro was among those honored, as Tobin earned the Ellen McCulloch-Lovell Prize. Established in 2015, the McCulloch-Lovell Prize recognizes accomplishment and potential in writing across genres (including fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and creative nonfiction), and encourages emerging writers to keep developing their craft.
Transitions
• Al Claussen and Karren Meyer have joined the Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital Board of Trustees. Claussen holds a master's in business administration from Norwich University and a B.S. in business administration from the University of Maine at Orono. He is a project manager for Noho Health Inc., and is chair of the West River Education District board and clerk for the Windham Central Supervisory Union, where he is responsible for fiscal controls and governance. A resident of Townshend, Claussen lives with his wife, Tammy, and four sons. Meyer earned an M.Ed. from Cambridge College and a B.F.A. in art education from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. She is currently pursuing a second master's from Castleton University. She teaches driver education at Leland & Gray High School and was named the 2019 Southern Vermont Driver Educator of the Year and the 2020 Vermont Driver Educator of the Year. She is also Leland & Gray's “Refuse to Use” coordinator. A resident of Newfane with her husband Steven and their son and daughter, Meyer has volunteered for many civic endeavors, including West River Valley Thrives, the Moore Free Library, Timpson Hill Preschool, and Grace Cottage Hospital Fair Day.
Obituaries
• William Dwight James, 61, of Brattleboro. Died Aug. 23, 2021 with his wife, who continuously cared for him, by his side. Ironically, the radiation therapy that saved his life was responsible for his respiratory failure. Will was born Feb. 21, 1960 and raised in Miami, Fla., by Josephine L. Keller and Sammy E. James. He was a young entrepreneur and, by age 10, had a successful lawn mowing business. He was the only kid in his neighborhood with money in his pocket. Part of his adolescent years were spent working on the Miami river, and learning lessons from the best thieves and conmen Miami had to offer. He enlisted in the Navy in 1977. He developed Hodgkins Lymphoma during this time, was treated, and received an honorable discharge in April 1978. Will married and had two children before he re-enlisted in the Navy for SEAL training in 1982. He successfully completed the program, but was unable to continue due to lung damage incurred by his lymphoma treatment. Will went on to serve on the MSO-433 Engage until another honorable discharge from Naval duty in 1986. He spent 15 years with the U.S. Postal Service until he started designing aircraft parts and started James Aircraft Co. He was an artist, writer, musician, carpenter, builder, mechanic, Mormon Priest, and physics engineer. After a forced retirement due to failing health, he continued with his life, while hiking the Green Mountains of Vermont with Luann, whom he adored. He was predeceased by his second wife Elizabeth, his daughter Helen, and his brother Jerry. Will is survived by his wife Luann; father Sammy James Sr. and stepmother Patricia James; mother Josephnie Keller; brothers Robert James, Sammy James Jr., and Jason Muehe; sisters Merrilee Lang, Tammy Healer, and Jean Oakley; daughters Sarah Nelson and Jensen James; stepson Jacob Webb; and grandchildren Providence, Scout, Autumn, Ryleigh, Ellie, Casey, Vidya, Diya, and Abel. Memorial information: None announced.
• Carl W. “Butch” Jillson III, 77, of Whitingham. Died Aug. 22, 2021 at his home. Butch was born in Bennington on Nov. 23, 1943, the son of the late Carl W. and Yvonne Hager Jillson, Jr. He attended Whitingham schools and graduated from Whitingham High School. After serving two tours of duty in the Navy, Butch went to work for the town of Whitingham at the sewerage plant for nearly 15 years. Butch enjoyed watching football and was an avid New England Patriots fan. In his earlier years, he enjoyed hunting and fishing, tinkering on small engines, listening to country music and was a member of the NRA. He loved playing cribbage and solitaire along with doing Soduku puzzles. Butch leaves behind the love of his life, Ruby Brown; his stepdaughter Kelly Moore (Tom), her three children and their spouses and grandchildren; and sisters Ann Butterfield and Jeannie Davies. Graveside funeral services with military honors will be announced at a later date. Memorial information: There are no visiting hours. Donations to the Windham County Humane Society, in care of Covey-Allen & Shea Funeral Home, P.O. Box 215, Wilmington, VT 05363.
• Paul Roger Lyman, 72, of Vernon. Died Aug. 5, 2021 at the Vermont Veterans' Home in Bennington, following an extended illness. Paul was born in Brattleboro on February 18, 1949, the son of Dwight and Shirley (Lamphear) Lyman. He attended Brattleboro public schools and graduated from Brattleboro Union High School with the Class of 1967. He went on to attend Franklin Institute in Boston, majoring in mechanical engineering. A Navy veteran who proudly served his nation during the Vietnam War era, he was stationed in Spain aboard the USS Vulcan as a draftsman and submarine repairman until he was honorably discharged from active service. In 1973, he married Patricia A. Williams, who survives. Paul worked most of his career as a mechanical design engineer. He was employed by G. S. Precision as a machinist in Wilmington and Brattleboro; Osram Sylvania in Hillsboro, N.H. as a design engineer; Northrop Grumman in Connecticut as a design engineer; and General Electric in Norwich, N.Y. as a design engineer. He also worked for many other companies over the years in the Keene area. Paul enjoyed the challenge of design and, for a time, designed houses and machines to make the building process easier. He was a man of many talents. Paul was a member of American Legion Post 5 in Brattleboro and held membership in the Brattleboro Sportsman Club. Of his leisure time activities, he enjoyed piloting his boat on Lake Ontario for Trout Tracker Charters, along with his wife as co-captain, for 24 years. Every weekend and during vacation days from April to October, they enjoyed many great adventures with family clients and friends. He also loved hunting with friends and family. His greatest and most memorable pleasure was helping his son get his first deer. Paul also enjoyed taking his granddaughter and daughter hunting in his comfy blind; he would snooze, Kelsey would color, and Nadine was on lookout. There was always a fun time to be had. Paul's wife began hunting after their children, Paul and Nadine, were on their own. He taught her everything and hunted by her side on many adventures. Besides his devoted wife of 47 years, he leaves a son, Paul E. Lyman and his wife, Nikki, of Spencer, Mass.; a daughter, Nadine Kissell of Vernon; one sister, Patricia Lyman March and her husband, Joe, of Warren, Maine; and three grandchildren, Kelsey, Hannah, and Jared. Memorial information: Graveside services in Christ Church Cemetery in Guilford, with full military honors, will be conducted at a future date to be announced. Donations to Vermont Veterans' Home Activities Fund, 325 North St., Bennington, VT 05201. To share a memory or send condolences to the family, visit www.atamaniuk.com.
• Usha Rikhye, 92, of East Dummerston. Died peacefully on Aug. 7, 2021, at her home. She was a resident of the Brattleboro/Dummerston community for more than 50 years. She was born on Nov. 23, 1928, in Lahore, India (now Pakistan), the daughter of civil engineer Kushi Ram and Sheila (Rampal) Erry. As refugees during the Partition of India in 1947, she and her family fled to present-day India, where she lived and raised a family until moving to New York in 1960. She was the wife of the late Inder Jit Rikhye, who was a major general in the Indian Army. She accompanied him from time-to-time during his tours of duty on United Nations Peacekeeping missions around the world, including Africa and the Middle East. They married in 1946 and divorced in 1974. She moved to the Brattleboro area in 1970, when her husband was appointed president of the International Peace Academy, which was then based on the campus of the Experiment in International Living (now the School for International Training). She served the senior citizens of the Brattleboro/Dummerston community with compassion as a home health aide for several years before retiring in 2000. Usha was an avid student of ancient, European, and American history, was a fine cook of Indian food (especially from her native Punjab), loved knitting, and enjoyed watching her grandchildren grow to adulthood. She is survived by her sons, Ravi of Takoma Park, and Bhalinder Rikhye of New York City; grandchildren Evan, Kiran, Gaia, and Kartikay; and great-grandchildren Sheela, Mira, and Evan James. She will be greatly missed by all. Memorial information: Services will be held privately by the family. Donations to Dummerston Cares, Inc., P.O. Box 302, West Dummerston, VT 05357. To view an online tribute, send condolences to the family, or for more information, visit www.phaneuf.net.
• Mary T. Shaughnessy, 100, of Bellows Falls. Died Aug. 24, 2021. A beloved daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and confidante, she was born Jan. 1, 1921, in North Walpole, N.H. Mary spent her early school years there, then crossed the river to attend Bellows Falls High School. After two years of business school in Brattleboro, Mary launched her 40-year career as a secretary for Fellows Gear Shaper Co. in Springfield, Vt. Mary devoted herself to her local community. She participated for many years in the Altar Rosary Society, the Bellows Falls Woman's Club, the Community Chorus of Bellows Falls, the Council for St. Peter's Junior Catholic Daughters and CYO, and was a lifetime member of St. Peter's Church in North Walpole. The fourth of the five children of Frank Shaughnessy and Mary (Gallagher) Shaughnessy, Mary was cherished by her late siblings, Francis, Sister Eleanor, Edward, and James. Mary is survived by her nieces and nephews, Anne, Dennis, Ellie, Frank, Maura, Patrick, Susan, and Tim. Except for the two major floods and a fire that forced her to vacate the house during renovations, Mary lived her entire life in the house where she was born. Her amazing caregivers and close friends loved to visit her in the red house, where Mary ruled the living room from her blue chair. An accomplished painter, arts and crafter, and chef, Mary loved traveling, big-band music and animals, particularly, her cat, Boogie Woogie. Famous for the blueberry muffins that she and her sister, Francis, baked every year for the St. Peter's bazaar, Mary was an ace fundraiser and a generous soul. Even at 100 years old, she had one of the sharpest minds around. Despite Mary's hearing loss, she maintained her gift for empathetic listening. Her nonjudgmental nature made her loved by more people than she will ever know. Memorial information: There will be a funeral Mass on Friday, Sept. 3, at 10 a.m., at St. Peter's Church, followed by a burial in St. Peter's Cemetery. Calling hours will be Thursday, Sept. 2, from 6 to 8 p.m., at Fenton & Hennessey Funeral Home, 55 Westminster St., Bellows Falls. Out of respect for Mary and family members whose immune systems are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, anyone who attends Mary's wake or funeral must wear a face mask. Donations to the Kigali Reading Center, a literacy center in Rwanda (kigalireads.org); the Frank Shaughnessy Kidney Cancer Fund at Dana Farber Cancer Center in Boston (PMC.org, designate e-gift MS0008); or the Springfield Humane Society (spfldhumane.org).
Services
• A celebration of the life of David Belanger will be held Sunday, Sept. 5, from noon to 4 p.m., at the Elks Home on Putney Road in Brattleboro. David, 60, of West Chesterfield, N.H., died peacefully at home on May 3, 2020 with his family at his side. To view his full obituary, visit www.atamaniuk.com.
• A memorial gathering for friends and family of John Skibniowsky of Vernon, who died on Dec. 18, 2020, will be held on Sunday, Sept. 12. Friends and family who knew John are invited to a service of rememberance at Tyler Cemetery on Pond Road in Vernon at 1 p.m. The service will be held at the Skibniowsky monument in the cemetery. Immediately following the service, friends and family are invited to a luncheon gathering at 516 Tyler Hill Rd. in Vernon.