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. We compile local information as a public service directly from funeral homes and from data from paid death notices online.
• Linda M. Boyd Amidon, 58, of Wilmington. Died Aug. 22 at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Daughter of Leon and Mildred Houle Boyd. Mother of Edwin C. Amidon, III, and his fiancée, Debbie, of Brattleboro. Partner of Charles Green of Wilmington. Sister of Leon Boyd of Brattleboro; Ken Boyd of Hinsdale, N.H.; James Boyd of Guilford; and Eleanor Powers of Florida. Predeceased by a daughter, Pamela Jean Amidon, and by a sister, Kathleen Powers. Memorial information: A graveside service was held Aug. 26 at Tyler Cemetery in Vernon.
• Jessie Dorothy Cummings, 99, of Brattleboro. Died Aug. 22 at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Wife of the late Richard J. Cummings. Sister of Marjorie “Midge” Dunham. Predeceased by siblings Paul Jones, Richard Jones and Evelyn Jones. Graduate of Brattleboro High School, Class of 1929. Worked her entire career in the printing industry as a proofreader/ supervisor, first at the former E.L. Hildreth Printing Company in Brattleboro and later at the former Book Press, where she retired from in 1976. Memorial information: A funeral Mass was held on Aug 25 at St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church in Brattleboro, with burial in St. Michael's Parish Cemetery. Donations to St. Michael's School, 48 Walnut St. Brattleboro, VT 05301 in care of Elaine Beam, Principal. Messages of condolence may be sent to Atamaniuk Funeral Home at www.atamaniuk.com.
• Jairus “Jerry” Charles Gilbert Sr., 77, of Halifax. Died Aug. 24 at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Husband of Julie (Myers) Gilbert for 51 years. Father of Joel Gilbert of Danbury, Conn.; Jay Gilbert of Franklinton, N.C.; Aaron Gilbert and his wife, Tamy of Naugatuck, Conn.; Edward Gilbert and his wife, Caroline of Las Vegas, Nev.; Max Gilbert and his wife, Kasey of Middleburg, Fla.; Sally Niezelski and her partner, Dennis Miller of Brattleboro; Marnie Sinclair of Amenia, N.Y.; and Patricia Gilbert and her partner, William Butler of Halifax. Graduate of Bethel (Conn.) High School, Class of 1951. Served in the Navy from 1951 to 1955. Worked as a Trainman/Conductor for the New Haven Railroad and Conrail for 40 years until retiring in 1995. Was a coach for the cross-country/track program at Lauralton Hall in Milford, Conn., for 20 years, retiring in 2004. Received the Rev. Doherty Award from Laurelton Hall for distinguished service; and the Coach of the Year Award from the Connecticut High School Coaches Association. Memorial information: A funeral Mass was held Aug. 30 at St. Patrick's Church, in Redding, Conn., with burial in Elmwood Cemetery in Bethel, Conn. Online condolences may be sent to the Bethel Funeral Home at www.HullFuneralService.com.
• George I. Holton, 80, of York, Pa. Died July 7 at York Hospital. Husband of Betty Ann Light for 54 years. Father of daughter Lesley and husband Edward Trump of Mechanicsburg, Pa.; and sons Dana of Jacobus, Pa., and Bradley of Little River S.C. Brother of James and his wife, Barbara Holton of Venice, Fla. Predeceased by a brother, William Holton. Graduate of Bellows Falls High School, Dean College and University of Vermont. Served in the U.S. Army Reserve. Worked in agriculture chemical sales for Bayer Corp., and Helena Chemical Co. Was a high school football referee for 30 years and was active with the Penn State Agronomy Club. Memorial information: A memorial service was held at the Heffner Funeral Chapel Crematory.
• John William Howard, 94, formerly of Bellows Falls. Died Aug. 19 in Tulsa, Okla. Former husband of the late Vona (Nichols) Howard. Father of the late Douglas and John Howard, Jr. Brother of Katherine Howard of Burlington. Predeceased by brothers Edward, Daniel, Lawrence and James Howard and his sister, Marie O'Brien. Graduated from Bellows Falls High School, where he served as class president, in 1933. Was a reporter for the Brattleboro Reformer, but his journalism career was interrupted by World War II. He was a first lieutenant in the Army and served as a communications officer in Gen. Douglas MacArthur's headquarters in Holandia, New Guinea and later at Manila in the Philippines. Received a B.A. in political science and economics from the University of Vermont in 1949 and his law degree from Yale Law School in 1952. Was a general attorney for Standard Oil of Indiana. Traveled to all seven continents, visiting more than 100 countries, including three trips into the Arctic. Memorial information: A funeral Mass was held Aug. 28 at St. Charles Church in Bellows Falls, followed by burial at St. Charles Cemetery in Westminster. Donations to the John W. Howard Scholarship Fund at the University of Vermont, in care of Joan Cook, Development and Alumni Relations, 411 Main St., Burlington, VT 05401.
• Moe J. Mozier, 77, of Alstead, N.H. Died Aug. 25 at home as the result of injuries sustained during a serious cycling accident in Langdon, N.H. on July 27. Husband of Shelley Reindeau Mozier. Former husband of Angeline (Potash) Mozier. Father of Kelli Rooney of West Chesterfield, N.H.; and Michael Mozier of Westminster. Graduate of Pembroke Academy and the University of New Hampshire. Served in the Air Force during the Korean War. Was a leading real estate agent and restaurateur in the area. Operated the food and beverage service at Haystack, Mount Snow, and Stratton Mountain and opened the original Holiday Inn in Brattleboro. Owned and operated Henry David's in Keene, N.H., and The Tavern in Brattleboro, before going into real estate, working for RE/MAX Town and Country in Keene. Memorial information: A memorial service was Sept. 1 at the Monadnock Covenant Church on Base Hill Road in Keene. Donations to the Athletic Program Sports Booster Club, Chesterfield School, P.O. Box 205, Chesterfield, NH 03443, Attention: Moe Mozier Memorial Fund; or the Monadnock Region Humane Society.
• Sigmund J. Sysko, 90, formerly of Bellows Falls. Died Aug. 16 in Lewiston, Maine. Husband of the late Eunice Watts for 54 years. Father of James Sysko and his partner, Patrice Thibodeau, of Newry, Maine; Mary Ellen Cramer and her husband, Richard, of Stroudsburg, Pa.; John Sysko and his wife, Helen, of Pittsburgh; and David Sysko and his wife, Holly, of Lewiston. Graduated from Bellows Falls High School as valedictorian in 1938. Received a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Vermont in 1942. Joined the Philco Corp. in Philadelphia upon graduation and worked in its APS-15 Radar Engineering Laboratory during World War II. After the war, he remained at Philco and participated in various engineering programs, including mobile telephone, television and reliability studies of all types of components, as well as the study and overview of the safety aspects of all of Philco's consumer electronic products. Memorial information: A private memorial service will be held at a later date. Condolences may be sent to the Fortin Group Funeral Home at www.thefortingrouplewiston.com.
• Albin Joseph Zak, Jr., 76, of Grafton. Died Aug. 26 at home. Husband of Thelma Faye Hurley Zak. Father of Albin Joseph, Liza Anastasia, Andrew Jonathan and Susannah Kathleen Zak. An Eagle Scout and avid percussionist, he graduated from Bryan (Texas) High School in 1950 and attended Texas A&M, where he earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Geology and Petroleum Engineering. He was a member of Corps of Cadets and played in the Aggie marching band. Lived and worked in Brazil, France, Algeria and England and traveled extensively while working for Core Laboratories, Petrobras, Sonatrach and Resources Engineering and Management International, of which he was a founding partner. He later joined Deutsche Bank as Chief Engineer for Project Finance. Retired to Grafton in 1990. Memorial information: A memorial service was held Sept. 1 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Springfield, followed by burial at Houghtonville Cemetery. Donations to Grace Cottage Hospital or the Visiting Nurse Association of Vermont.
Births
• In Brattleboro (Memorial Hospital), Aug. 14, 2010, a daughter, Elsa Mae Stephens, to Michelle (Serviss) and Zachary P. Stephens of Putney; granddaughter to Donna and Allen Serviss of Vernon, Eric Stephens of Troy, N.H., and Lorraine Geirloff of Brattleboro; great-granddaughter to Robert and Wilma Perkins of Hinsdale, N.H., Dorothy Lapointe of Halifax and Norman Lapointe of Jacksonville.
• In Brattleboro (Memorial Hospital), Aug. 13, 2010, a son, Jonah Reznikoff, to Jackie (D'Almeida) and J.C. Reznikoff of Brattleboro; grandson to Barbara Franceschini and Nathan Reznikoff.
• In Brattleboro (Memorial Hospital), Aug. 6, 2010, a son, Michael Nathan Garvin Jr., to Heather Newell of South Newfane and Michael Garvin Sr. of Jacksonville; grandson to Sharon Newell, Lucy Garvin, Brent Newell, James Garvin, Marguerite Carey, and Oscar Newell.
• In Brattleboro (Memorial Hospital), Aug. 5, 2010, a daughter, Ariannah Rachel Carter, to Staci Willard and Joshua James Carter of West Brattleboro; granddaughter to Judy Young, Kevin Carter, Timothy Wilton and Bobbi Sue.
• In Concord, N.H., (Concord Hospital), July 5, 2010, a son, Brady Arthur Williams, to Christine (Higley) and David Williams of Concord; grandson to Kent and Callie Williams of Concord; great-grandson to Maude and Arthur Higley of Guilford.