Obituaries
• Robert Everett “Bob” Burbank, 87, of Brattleboro. Died March 24 at home. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Louise Caley Burbank, whom he married in 1951, and his four children, Hollis Burbank-Hammarlund of Newfane, Nancy Woodward of Fitzwilliam, N.H., Todd Burbank of Wilton, Conn., and Ross Burbank of Bedford, N.Y. Arne Hammarlund, husband of Hollis, was like a son to Bob as well. He is also survived by five grandchildren and his younger brother, Allen Burbank, of Bedford. Born in Bedford Hills, N.Y., son of the late Doris Lindeman Burbank and Clement Everett Burbank, he graduated from Clarkson University in 1951 with a degree in Business Administration and subsequently took over his family business, Burbank Motors Corporation, which he ran for many decades in addition to developing and managing commercial real estate with his brother. He was a 66-year member of the Bedford Hills Fire Department and served as both captain and president in the 1960s. During the Korean War, Bob served in the Army in Panama. It was there that he and his wife fell in love with the Tropics. Together, they lived for portions of each year in the Virgin Islands, Montserrat (West Indies), and Culebra (Puerto Rico). They have many friends from around the globe. In 1985, the Burbanks moved to Upper Way Farm on Ames Hill in Brattleboro. As a serial hobbyist, his life in Vermont after retirement was filled with projects: Collecting and restoring vintage British, German, and Rambler cars; planting a 1,000-tree apple orchard and re-building an antique, commercial cider press; selling apples and cider; buying, renovating and selling real estate; building an ultra-light airplane; and volunteering with the Montserrat National Trust to restore buildings and archeological sites, among other projects. His imagination and can-do spirit seemed limitless. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: A memorial gathering is scheduled for Saturday, April 9, at 2 p.m., at the home of Ross Burbank in Bedford. All are welcome to attend. Contact a family member for driving directions. Donations to the Montserrat National Trust at P.O. Box 393, Olveston, Montserrat, West Indies.
• Theodore “Ted” V. Boggio, 83, of Brattleboro. Died March 26. Born in Auburn, Ill., the son of the late James and Marie (Pompon) Boggio, he graduated from Auburn schools and Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut Grove, Calif. He was honorably discharged from the Army in 1955. He retired as an executive of the JCPenney Co. in 1989. He married Roberta Mitchell of Auburn, who died in 1969. In 1981, he married Mavis E. Jennings, who survives. Also surviving are his stepchildren: Valerie Dugan of Macomb, Ill.; Peter Dugan of Louisville, Ky., and Christopher Dugan of Brattleboro; his brother, Daniel Boggio of Bigfork, Minn.; and three grandchildren. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his sister, Irene, and his brother, James. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: Mr. Boggio insisted that there be no funeral or memorial service. In lieu of flowers or donations, he hoped to be remembered by taking a loved one or friend out to lunch or dinner.
• Richard E. Ellison, 87, of Hinsdale, N.H. Died March 5, after a battle with lung cancer. Born in Rutland, the son of the late Leon and Margery (Barber Murray) Ellison, he was educated in Rutland and graduated from Rutland High School. He attended the University of Vermont and served in the Navy during World War II as a parachute rigger. After active service, he learned to fly and earned his pilot's license; at one point, he owned his own plane. He was a member of Carpenters Union Local 1121 for more than 30 years as a carpenter and millwright. He was a member of American Legion Post 5 and VFW Post 1034 in Brattleboro. He was an avid hunter and fly fisherman who learned to tie his own flies as a boy. In 1987, he married Elizabeth Tudor, who survives him along with a son, John, of Jacksonville; a daughter, Marilyn, of New York; a granddaughter, nephews and a niece. He was predeceased by siblings Betty Perry, and Robert Robin and Murray Ellison; and a daughter, Debbie Young. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: Graveside services with military honors will be conducted Friday, April 8, at 1 p.m., at East Clarendon Cemetery. Arrangements are by Atamaniuk Funeral Home of Brattleboro.
• Michael E. Freitas, 76, of Keene, N.H. Died March 24 at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene after a lengthy battle with Parkinson's Disease. Husband of Diane (Zito) Freitas for 32 years. Father of Michael S. Freitas of Glendale, Ariz. Brother of David Freitas and his wife, Jackie, of Hinsdale, N.H.; Alan Mears and his wife, Sharron, of Powder Springs, Ga.; Douglas Mears of Bennington; Kevin Mears of Phoenix, Ariz.; Gregory Mears and his wife, Linda, of Sacramento, Calif.; Dana Mears of Pownal; and Scott Mears of Tampa, Fla. Born in Brattleboro, the son of the late Frank and Barbara (Johnson) Freitas, he grew up in Brattleboro and Hinsdale, where he was a 1957 graduate of Hinsdale High School. While in high school, he participated on the school's basketball and baseball teams. His love of the great outdoors found his work career centering on this love. He was the manager of the sporting goods department of the former Hilson Home Center in Keene and, later for more than 30 years, was a salesman with Hal Brown Company, based out of Branford, Conn., selling fishing equipment. He was an avid hunter, and an avid Red Sox fan. He and his wife traveled to Florida every spring to see the Red Sox in Fort Myers and enjoy the beaches in Naples. He was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge 927. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: A funeral Mass was held March 30 at St. Bernard Church in Keene, with burial in Meetinghouse Hill Cemetery in Brattleboro.
• Tina Y. Harris, 56, of Brattleboro. Died March 29 at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. Born in Brattleboro, she was raised and educated in Brattleboro and attended Brattleboro Union High School. She worked for several years as a store clerk at Fleming's Shell station on Canal Street. Previously, she worked at several Brattleboro-area motels. She enjoyed Bingo, playing cards, computer games, and time shared with her family. Survivors include one son, Samuel Hunt of Guilford; her mother and step-father, Veronica and John Murphy of Brattleboro; three brothers, Daniel Harris and wife, Karen, of Bellows Falls; Christopher Harris of Brattleboro; and Robert Harris of Milton; one sister, Karen Harrington of Brattleboro; two grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her father, Robert Harris. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: Friends may call at Atamaniuk Funeral Home in Brattleboro, on Sunday, April 10, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. A memorial gathering will follow the visitation to be held at the Shrine Hall, 3 Green St., Brattleboro, starting at 1 p.m. Donations to help defray the family's cost of the funeral expenses may be made to the Atamaniuk Funeral Home, 40 Terrace Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301.
• The Rev. Mary Robb Mansfield, 75, formerly of Brattleboro. Died March 21 from lymphoma at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. Born in Brattleboro, the daughter of the late Hermon F. and Bertha (Haynes) Robb, she was raised on the Robb Farm in West Brattleboro. Some of her inner strength may have come from being the youngest to three cherished brothers: Tom, Jack, and Charlie. She was very proud of her farm-girl roots and often kidded her husband, Richard Mansfield, who also grew up in Brattleboro, for being a “townie.” They attended school together from seventh-grade through high school, and then a chance encounter during their college years led to a romance that lasted more than 55 years. She attended UVM and Albany State before marrying Richard in 1962, just before he attended Naval Flight School. Their daughter, Jennifer, was born in late 1963 in a tiny Texas hospital where the doctor, when asking Mary's height and hearing 5-foot-1, said, “Ma'am, only in a stiff breeze.” She had several difficult “Navy wife” years when her husband flew combat missions in Vietnam and was nearly captured. Returning to Vermont in 1967, she restarted her college program while having two sons, Richard and Robb, and being active in the League of Women Voters and Christ Episcopal Church, Montpelier. She completed her B.A. in English at night at UVM in 1972. When the family moved to central New York, she began her teaching career, teaching ninth- and 11th-grade English at Jordan-Elbridge High School. Like everything in her life, she excelled in teaching and later earned a M.S. in English Secondary Education from Syracuse University in 1983. Always a minister in her dealings with people, she felt a calling to the priesthood. She went through a lengthy and rigorous discernment process and after many reviews, was approved to attend seminary at Bexley Hall in Rochester. There, she was an honors student, earned an M.Div with Distinction, and received the Trost Memorial Prize at graduation, awarded by the faculty to a graduating senior who exhibits “unusual promise in becoming a faithful pastor, preacher, and parish minister.” She was ordained Deacon at St. Paul's in Owego, N..Y and began a great ministry there, and was loved by the congregation. A year later in 1995, after ordination to the priesthood, she worked with several small churches until she and Richard moved to Maryland. The prospects for a “Yankee woman priest” were not very bright there but, after a few years of substitute work, she moved back to Vermont and began the best period of ministry of her life. She served the congregation of St. John's in the Mountains in Stowe for nearly a decade. She helped them through a major replacement of their church. Her calm grace during a period of some dissension and much upheaval helped them build a lovely, lively, energy-efficient building. Many whose lives were touched by her quiet listening and warm compassion loved her. After retirement, she became even more of a Red Sox fan, an active Facebook reader, and an avid traveler who went to the Southwest about every winter, enjoying the adventure and the birds. She also became a super-grandmother, loving her four grandkids deeply and always rejoicing in their accomplishments. On the day before she died, she smiled and nodded when shown a published photo of her granddaughter. She is survived by her husband of 53 years; her children: Jennifer H. Mansfield and her husband, Bruce Parisi, of Merrimac, Mass.; Richard H. Mansfield, Jr. and wife, Lydda, of Tipp City, Ohio; and Robb Pearson Mansfield and his wife, Mary, of Del Mar, Calif.; her three brothers: Thomas Robb of Scarsdale, N.Y., John Robb of Watertown, Conn., and Charles Robb of West Brattleboro. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: A celebration of her life was held at Christ Episcopal Church in Montpelier on April 2. Donations to the Outreach Programs at Christ Church, or the Building Fund at North Branch Nature Center, 713 Elm St., Montpelier, VT 05602.
• Norma Irene (Ecklund) Pike, 87, formerly of Brattleboro. Died March 28 at her home in Great Falls, Va. She was born in Denison, Iowa, the daughter of the late Russell William Ecklund and Erma Irene Johnson. Her parents were both from large families of Swedish farming immigrants who emigrated to Iowa in 1860s and 1870s. She was the youngest of five siblings: Winifred, twins Ruth and Ruby, and William. She met and married Laurence Pike in 1950 at the University of Iowa. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in chemistry in 1954. Moving to New York City while her husband attended Columbia Law School, she worked for several years in the pharmacy at New York Hospital. In 1958, they moved to Scarsdale N.Y., to raise their growing family. In 1993, the Pikes retired to their home in Brattleboro, which was a wonderful venue for many family gatherings over the years. She was predeceased by her husband, and her daughter, Barbara. She is survived by three sons: William and his wife, Lory, of Santa Rosa, Calif.; Jeffrey and his wife, Nelly, of Great Falls, Va.; and Alan of Tarrytown, N.Y., as well as by five grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: A graveside committal service and interment took place April 2 in Meetinghouse Hill Cemetery in Brattleboro. Donations to the charity of one's choice. Arrangements were handled by Ker-Westerlund Funeral Home of Brattleboro.
• Carolyn E. Pinto, 78, of Brattleboro. Died March 12 at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Born in New York City, the daughter of the late Carl and Elizabeth Matthies, she had been a Brattleboro resident since 1982. She worked as a cosmetic artist for Elizabeth Arden. She was a parishioner of St. Michael's Catholic Church in Brattleboro. She was very active within her community. She volunteered at Bridget's Kitchen, Meals on Wheels, the former Linden Lodge, and BMH. She enjoyed gardening and spending time with her local granddaughter, and her two great-granddaughters. She is survived by two sons, Joseph Pinto of New York and Michael Pinto of Georgia; a daughter, Marie Forrester of Georgia; granddaughter Jennifer Coleman and her partner, Mathew Hadden, of Newfane; as well as many grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: A memorial service was held March 30 at St. Michael's Catholic Church. Donations to St. Michael's Catholic Church, 47 Walnut St., Brattleboro, VT 05301; Brattleboro Area Hospice, 191 Canal St., Brattleboro, VT 05301; or the Brattleboro Senior Center, in care of Meals on Wheels, 207 Main St., Brattleboro, VT 05301. Arrangements were handled by Ker-Westerlund Funeral Home.
• Leonard Clyde Randall, 92, of Williamsville. Died March 16 at his home. The son of the late Clyde Randall and Lila Temple Grout Randall Leonard, he was born in Ike Robertson's house in Newfane, the third of three children. They lived there until he was 5, when his father was electrocuted. He went to Timson Hill Elementary School until eighth-grade. He was in charge of keeping the school warm in the winter by building fires and he bought his first gun, a Winchester .32 Special, with the money he made from the job. He then attended Brattleboro High School and graduated in 1942. He would ride in the rumble seat of a 1929 Chevy every day to school. He played on the BHS baseball and football teams; his coach nicknamed him “Hawkeye.” After high school, he joined the Marines and served four years with the 4th Division in the Pacific during World War II. He fought on the islands of Saipan and Iwo Jima, and was awarded the Bronze Star. In 1951, he married Mary Saint Pierre of St. Albans, and they bought John Clark's house in Williamsville in 1952, where they lived for the rest of their years together. He worked for Templeton's for a year building furniture, then went on to work with his brother, Frank Grout, as a logger. He later purchased a logging truck and trucked logs for 14 years. From there he went to Smead's Lumber, where he worked for 25 years before retiring (somewhat). After retirement, Leonard worked at American Legion Post 5 in Brattleboro. He enjoyed hunting, bowling, sugaring, and woodworking in his free time. He was a member of the American Legion, Marine Corps League, and the VFW. He was predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Mary Randall, and siblings Frank Grout and Florence Powers. He is survived by four children: Rosalee Martocci and her husband Paul; Bud Randall and his wife, Denise; Francaise Randall and Patricia Reardon; and Mona Severance; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: A graveside service will be held on Friday, April 8, 2016, at 11 a.m., at Williamsville Cemetery. A potluck reception will follow; bring your favorite dish to share. Donations to the Marine Corps Auxiliary #798, Toys for Kids, P.O. Box 1942, Brattleboro, VT 05302; or Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend. Arrangements are being handled by Ker-Westerlund Funeral Home.
• Margaret “Peg” Sievers, 90, of Newfane. Died March 26 at Middlesex Memorial Hospital in Middletown, Conn. She was predeceased by her husband of 64 years, Albert “Al” Sievers. She was born in Princes Bay, Staten Island, N.Y., the daughter of the late Harry and Margaret (Bruce) Corbett. Peg and Al attended Tottenville (N.Y.) High School together. After Al returned from the Navy having served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Wasp in the Pacific during World War II, they were married in a snowstorm on her birthday on Feb. 8, 1947, at her home in Princes Bay. They moved to Troy, N.Y., where her husband completed his undergraduate studies at RPI. After a brief time in Newton, NJ, and Cromwell, Conn., the Sievers moved to Moodus, Conn., in 1957, where they raised their family and resided for the rest of their lives. They were avid outdoors people and canoed the length of the Connnecticut River, enjoyed cross country skiing at Grafton Ponds, and fly fishing, especially at Sunset Pond in Vermont and Kidney Pond Camps in Baxter State Park in Maine. For more than 40 years, they could be found every weekend enjoying the good life at their “little house” in Newfane. She is survived by her son, Bruce and his wife, Nikitoula Menounos, of Lebanon, Conn.; her daughter, Christie Legnani of Moodus; three grandchildren; and one great-grandson. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: A private graveside service will be held by the family.
• Anita (Doucette) Stacy, 88, of Brooksville, Fla., formerly of Brattleboro. Died March 2 in Brooksville, following a period of declining health. Born in Burlington, the daughter of the late Antonio and Diana (Dionne) Leclaire. She was raised and educated in Brattleboro, attending St.Michael's School. For many years she was a store clerk at the former Grand Union supermarket in Brattleboro. Previously, she worked at the former Vermont Squire Restaurant, American Optical Co., and at Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates. She enjoyed ceramics, travel, and time shared with her family. She was a longtime communicant of St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church in Brattleboro. In 1946, she married John Doucette, who predeceased her. She later married Andrew Stacey in 2001, who also predeceased her. Survivors include three sons, Michael Doucette of Marietta, Ga., and Lawrence and Timothy Doucette, both of Brooksville; siblings Marcel Leclaire of Zephyr Hills, Fla., Marie Rabideau and Irene Pollica of Brattleboro, and Jane Lyons of Vernon; 10 grandchildren, several great-grandchildren and many nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews. She was predeceased by a daughter, Deborah Ellis; five brothers: Leo Leclaire, Rene Leclaire, Richard Leclaire, Henry Leclaire and Norman Leclaire; and five sisters: Annette Marchant, Yvette Brouillard, Jeannine Smith, Gertrude Raymond, and Martha Castine. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: A funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, June 11, at 10 a.m., at St. Michael's Catholic Church. Burial will follow in St. Michael's Parish Cemetery. Donations to Brattleboro Area Hospice, P.O. Box 1053, Brattleboro, VT 05301. To sign an online register book or send messages of condolence to the family, visit www.atamaniuk.com.