Obituaries
• Maj. Irvin W. Bruneau (USAF Ret.), 86, of Guilford. Died Oct. 15 at his home. Husband of the late Jerilynn D. (Carley) Bruneau. Father of Mark Bruneau, and his wife, Lauren, of Essex; Matthew Bruneau, and his wife, Kelly, of Williston; Hope Bruneau Reilly and her husband, Christopher, of St. Albans,; and Jessica Bruneau of Guilford. Brother of Nancy Brady of Tiverton, R.I., and Joan Breen of Providence, R.I. He was born in Fall River, Mass, the son of the late William and Winnifred Bruneau. He attended Bishop Coyle High School in Taunton, Mass., and St. Anselm College, graduating with the class of 1950 with a degree in chemistry. After college, he enlisted in the Air Force and served two years during the Korean War. He left the Air Force with the rank of captain, but continued to serve in the Air Force Reserve until 1980, retiring as a major. After his military career, Irvin taught physics and chemistry in Massachusetts and was employed by C.E. Bradley Labs in Brattleboro until his retirement in 2002. He was an active member of the Guilford community, including the Guilford Grange and the Selectboard. He was a voracious reader, preferring mystery novels, sprinkled with history and nonfiction. He played hockey for several years in the senior league, serving his turn as oldest player of the day during the 2001-o2 season at age 73. During his retirement years, he discovered a love for collecting and creating his own pottery. Memorial information: A memorial Mass for family and friends was held Oct. 24 at St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church in Brattleboro, with burial in Meetinghouse Hill Cemetery in Brattleboro. Ker-Westerlund Funeral Home of Brattleboro was in charge of arrangements.
• Alan Fisher, 75, of Marietta, Ga., and Jamaica. Died Oct. 12 of lung cancer at Emory Hospital in Atlanta after a short illness. Husband of Carol Maddox for 10 years. Brother of Arthur Fisher Jr. and his wife, Nancy, of Dallas, Texas. Born in White Plains, N.Y., on Nov. 15, 1938, the oldest of two sons of the late Arthur and Dorothy Fisher, he graduated from Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, earned a B.S. degree in psychology from Villanova University, and an MBA from City College of New York. He served in the Army at Fort Gordon, was honorably discharged in 1966, and served in the Army Reserve. Following university, he lived in Manhattan and worked for several advertising agencies including Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn; Doyle, Dane & Bernbach; and Marsteller. Among his clients were Volkswagen, 21 Brands, CBS, and the U.S. Ski Team. He ran several businesses in Vermont, including The Deli restaurant and Wine & Cheese Etc. Ltd. in Bondville and the Bailey-Rawson House and Truffles restaurants in Rawsonville. He also worked for Green Mt. Distributing in Rutland, for Advertising Directions in Bondville, and as an adjunct business instructor for Southern Vermont and Skidmore colleges. During their 10 years together, they traveled extensively, particularly enjoying a trip to southern Africa in the spring of this year. Besides his life with Carol, Alan loved Vermont, skiing, and his Brittany spaniels. After a friend invited him to a skiing weekend at Stratton in the 1960s, he was hooked, making it a regular winter weekend destination and eventually buying a house in Jamaica on Cole Pond, which he and his wife still owned at the time of his death. Alan was one of the original members of the Stratton Mountain Volunteer Ski Patrol, serving the patrol for 40 years. He also was one of the National Ski Patrol representatives who patrolled at the Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, in 1972. He was a member of the Mt. Lebanon Lodge in Jamaica, a Shriner, and a member of the Knights of Columbus. He was a certified EMT, a volunteer fireman of the Hartsdale Volunteer Fire Company, as well as a Justice of the Peace for Jamaica. He was a member of the State Republican Executive Committee and an alternate Georghe H.W. Bush delegate to the 1988 Republican National Convention. Memorial information: A memorial service will be held at the Chapel of the Snows at Stratton Mountain on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 5 p.m. (A Masonic service will be included). Donations to the Stratton Mtn. Ski Patrol, in care of Carlos Otis Clinic, P.O. Box 617, Stratton Mtn., VT 05155.
• Marion H. Fournier, 86, formerly of Charlestown, N.H. Died Oct. 20 at Springfield Health and Rehabilitation Center. Wife of the late Leo J. Fournier Sr. Stepmother of Leo and Linda Fournier of Enfield, Conn., Linda and Moe Paquette of Milledgeville, Ga., and the late Ernest Fournier. Sister of Ruth Wright of Springfield and the late Fred Otis Hurlburt, Helen White, Jean St. Lawrence, and George Hurlburt Sr. Born at the Midwife's House in North Westminster, the daughter of the late Charles N. and Ruth (Strong) Hurlburt, she attended schools in Bellows Falls and was a 1947 graduate of Bellows Falls High School. From there, she worked at the Bellows Falls Trust Co. and retired from the accounting department after more than 40 years of dedicated service. After retirement, she volunteered at the Charlestown Senior Center and spent her days with her husband and visiting with her sisters and friends. She was very active in her life. She was a member of TOPS of Chester, the Columbia Rebekah Lodge #21, IOOF of Springfield, Loyal Order of Eastern Star Alpha Chapter #53, American Legion Post 37 Auxiliary, the United Church in Bellows Falls, and the Vermont Bankers Association 40 Year Club. Memorial information: A funeral service was held Oct. 25 at the United Church in Bellows Falls, with burial in the the Vermont Veterans Memorial Cemetery. Donations to the Activities Fund at the Springfield Health and Rehabilitation Center, 105 Chester Rd., Springfield, Vt. 05156. Fenton & Hennessey Funeral Home in Bellows Falls was in charge of arrangements.
• Rodney F. Hudson, 77, of Hinsdale, N.H. Died Oct. 19. Husband of Joyce (Thompson) Hudson. Father of Lynn Hudson and his wife, Angel, of Chesterfield, N.H., and Kimberly Hudson of Hinsdale. Brother of Albert Hudson and his wife, Judy, of Hinsdale, Arvilla Francis of Chesterfield, Janice Stevens and her husband, Marle, of Hinsdale, Cherolyn Nichols of Dummerston, and the late Nelson Hudson. Born in Hinsdale, the son of the late Marshall and Elizabeth (Fales) Hudson, he was a lifelong Hinsdale resident. He was educated in the Hinsdale school system. Rodney was a farmer for most of his life and later worked as a driver for Thomas Transportation. He enjoyed driving, especially to see his grandchildren. He loved border collies, and was an avid Red Sox fan. Memorial information: A memorial service was held Oct. 24 at Grace Community Evangelical Free Church in Spofford, N.H. Burial was private. Donations to a charity of one's choice. Ker-Westerlund Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
• Gordon W. Phillips, 86, of Inverness, Fla., formerly of Townshend. Died Oct. 12 at Hospice of Citrus County. Husband of Imogene (Pauley) Phillips and the late Joyce (Fontaine) Phillips. Father of Brent Phillips and his wife, Helene, of Beverly Hills, Fla.; Lauris Bissell and her husband, James, of Munsonville, N.H., and Barbara Reno of Las Cruces, N.M. Brother of John Phillips of Fairborn, Ohio. Born in Jamaica, son of the late Raymond and Ella (Ware) Phillips, he owned and operated the soda fountain and village store “On The Corner” in Townshend, for 35 years with his wife Joyce (Fontaine) before retiring and relocating full time to Florida. He was an avid golfer and enjoyed the years he spent golfing with the American-Canadian Snowbirds. He was a member of Pleasant Grove Road Church of Christ. Memorial information: A private service will be held in Townshend, at a later date. Donations to Grace Cottage Hospital, P.O. Box 1, Townshend, VT. 05353.
• Beatrice Taylor Ward, 101, of Vernon. Died Oct. 18 at Vernon Green nursing home while recovering from her first major illness in 60-some years. She was a resident of Vernon Advent Christian Homes for 31 years. Wife of Rev. Parker Bennett Ward. Mother of Wesley Taylor Ward and the late Cynthia Jane Ward. Sister of the late Madge Hamilton, Leon Taylor, and Howard Taylor. She was born in a small farmhouse on Hatch Schoolhouse Road in Halifax, the daughter of the late Eli and Grace (Howard) Taylor. Following her mother's death, five-year-old Beatrice was “taken in” by her older sister, Madge, at the Joseph Hamilton Farm in West Brattleboro. She grew up with, and eventually helped to raise, the five Hamilton children, Alice, Joseph, Richard, Edward, and Howard, and was, in effect, adopted by the extended Hamilton family. She graduated from Brattleboro High School in 1932, earned a teaching diploma from Castleton Normal School, and then taught multiple grades at Higley Hill School in Marlboro. As was customary, the job involved building, lighting, and tending the fire in the one-room schoolhouse and dampening the internal fires of the older boys. In 1941, she married Rev. Ward and, in many quiet ways, she supported his ministry in Methodist churches in Bellows Falls (where he preached against the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II), and Middlebury (where he preached against alcohol); Schenectady, Amsterdam, Dannemora and Lyon Mountain, NY; and finally, Osterville, Mass., on Cape Cod, where he succumbed to cancer at age 49. She bravely and cheerfully supported her children while they attended college by working as a dietitian at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, at the Skyline Restaurant in Marlboro, and at Eden Park Nursing Home in Brattleboro. After her children graduated from college, she felt called to do something more tangible to help others beyond her family. She moved to Henderson Settlement in Frakes, Ky., deep in the Appalachian Mountain coal country, where she served as a housemother for several years in the girls' dormitory. She returned to Marlboro in the late 1960s and helped raise her grandson, Carrington Ward, as well as two goats and a hive of bees. After Wesley and his wife, Gale McCullough, moved to Massachusetts and Maine respectively, she joined the Vernon Advent Christian community, and became active in the Brattleboro community. While living in Marlboro and at The Birches in Vernon, she worked as a dietitian at Eden Park Nursing Home. She helped to launch the Brattleboro Farmers' Market, and volunteered at Brattleboro Area Hospice and Loaves and Fishes. She was a member of the United Methodist Church and the Methodist Women's Association. After moving from the Birches to Vernon Hall, she applied for and obtained a grant to construct a large, waist-high garden between the two main wings of the assisted living facility. She and her friends tended the resulting 8' x 30' garden bed for many years; the sunflowers, petunias, marigolds, and vegetables have been a glorious sight from June through September. Though never politically minded, she was a faithful voter; she especially admired Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jimmy Carter, and Michelle and Barack Obama and believed that the United Nations was a force for immense good in the world. She was a quiet and faithful advocate of peace among nations and goodwill among humankind. She loved Vermont and was proud of Marlboro College and the Marlboro Music Festival. Memorial information: At her request, her remains have been donated to the University of Vermont Medical College in Burlington. Following cremation, her ashes will be laid to rest next to her husband's in the Ward family plot in Saranac, New York. A memorial services will be held on Saturday, Nov. 8 at Vernon Hall, 13 Greenway Drive in Vernon at 12:45 p.m., and at the First United Methodist Church, 18 Town Crier Drive (off Putney Road) at 4 p.m. Donations to First United Methodist Church, Brattleboro Area Hospice, 191 Canal St., Brattleboro, VT 05301, or Vernon Advent Christian Homes, 13 Greenway Drive, Vernon, VT 05354. Atamaniuk Funeral Home of Brattleboro is in charge of arrangements.
• Vivian Pearl (Plante) Winn, 87, of West Chesterfield, N.H. Died Oct. 21 at Applewood Nursing Home in Winchester N.H., following a period of declining health. Wife of Hadley W. Winn for 70 years. Sister of Perley (Joe) Plante and the late Dorothy, Graydon, and Gordon Plante. Born in Brattleboro, the daughter of the late Perley P. and Bessie (Ryder) Plante, she attended schools in Chesterfield and Brattleboro. In 1944, she married her childhood sweetheart in Texas, where he was stationed as an Army pilot during World War II. After his completion in the service, they returned to West Chesterfield where they set up housekeeping in a small family home which had been passed down for generations and lived there for their 70 years together. Throughout her life with no children of her own, she devoted much time and love to her many nieces and nephews and their extended families. In earlier years, she was a member of the All Souls Church choir and the Order of Rebekah's in Brattleboro. As her husband was a building contractor, they both had real estate licenses. Being the wife of a 50-year veteran fireman, she enjoyed preparing for the Chesterfield Corn Roast. An outdoor enthusiast she was energized by her daily walks of several miles and in her younger years was delighted with a good day's catch of brook trout. She also was fond of golfing, skiing and attending standard-bred horse races throughout New England in which her father, brother, and nephew participated. For nearly two decades, she and her husband spent the winters in Tavares, Fla. Before settling in Florida, they had traveled to all 50 states and throughout Canada in their RV. There were also many cruises and trips in Europe. At her home, she was well known for her beautiful gardens filled with colorful flowers and also for her tasty canned goods. As a prize-winning juried artist she exhibited her work at many fairs and festivals and local businesses in the area and was a volunteer art instructor at the Chesterfield School. She was an avid Patriots fan and spent many hours watching games and cheering for a win with a bowl of popcorn beside her. Her favorite TV viewing was a good old black and white western with lots of beautiful horses and a happy ending. Animals were her weakness and she was well known to welcome dogs for a short visit which turned into lifetime stays. She was never one to pass up a chance to participate in and encourage her family's performances and special occasion festivities. A small woman in stature, she more than made up for that with a bigger than life laugh and mischievous twinkle in her eye and a spectacular voice that was made for a one of a kind talent, yodeling. Memorial information: The Cremation Society of New Hampshire is providing their services. A memorial service will be held at the West Chesterfield Cemetery at a later date. Donations to Joan's Food Pantry, P.O. Box 148, Chesterfield, NH 03443 or The Monadnock Humane Society, 101 West Swanzey Rd, West Swanzey, NH 03446.