College news
• Dominic Italia of Dummerston graduated from the University of Denver with a B.S. in Biology. He will pursue the field of dentistry in his graduate studies.
• The following local residents were among the 399 members of the Class of 2016 to earn degrees from Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. on May 21: Ava Myette of Brattleboro graduated with a B.A. in English, Caroline DiNicola-Fawley of Brattleboro graduated cum laude with a B.A. in anthropology, and Marguerite Dooley of Brattleboro, graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts in political science.
• Caitlin McCloskey-Meyer of Brattleboro was named to the Dean's List for the spring 2016 semester at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., where she is pursuing a B.F.A. in dance.
• Cassidy Santorelli of Bellows Falls, a student at Fairleigh Dickinson University's Florham Campus, located in Madison, N.J., has been named to the Dean's List for the spring 2016 semester.
• Gavin Sweeter of Whitingham, a graduate of Twin Valley High School, will attend Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y., as a member of the Class of 2020. Sweeter, who will be majoring in mechanical engineering, will begin studying at Clarkson in the fall.
• William Culver of Grafton, has been named to the Dean's Honor List for the spring 2016 semester at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.
• The following local students received academic honors for the spring 2016 semester at the Community College of Vermont: Stevie-Tao Roberts and Levi Simpson of Brattleboro, Paige Gargett of Jamaica, and Hannah Crocker of Saxtons River were all named to the President's List. Sage Kampitsis, Risa Knapp, and Spencer Knickerbocker of Brattleboro, Thomas Anderson of Dummerston, Trinna Larsen and Daniel Tharp of Putney, Abigail Miller of Vernon, and Mandolin Lucier of Whitingham were all named to the Dean's List.
• Elias Park, a finance major from Wilmington,, earned Dean's List honors at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia for the spring 2016 semester.
Transitions
• Heather Wachtel, M.D., just completed a seven-year residency (2009-2016) in General Surgery at the Hospital for the University of Pennsylvania (HUPS). She is starting a Fellowship in Endocrine Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) next month on Aug. 1. Prior to attending medical school, she conducted immunology research for two years at MGH. Dr. Wachtel received her MD degree from Yale University School of Medicine in 2009, her B.A. in History of Medicine and Molecular Biology from Harvard University in 2003, and is a 1999 graduate of Leland & Gray Union High School. Originally from South Newfane, she now resides in Lexington, Mass., with her husband Greg, and daughter, Ava.
Obituaries
• Douglas Evert Frank, 56, of Guilford. Died June 25 at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. Born on Dec. 19, 1959 in East Elmhurst, N.Y., the son of Judith Shepherd Frank and Geert E Frank, he spent his youth living in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Kensington, N.H. He attended Berry Academy, as well as Berry College, in Mt. Berry, Georgia where he earned a B.F.A. in 1983. He had a lifelong love of art and teaching. He taught art education in Georgia, St, Croix, and New Hampshire. He was a truly gifted artist, working in a wide variety of mediums. In recent years, his focus and passion had been photography. He was involved extensively in the Vermont Center for Photography in Brattleboro, both as a participant and as a board member. He had an adventurous spirit and traveled widely through America and Europe. With a passion for music and dance, he helped found the annual Contra Dance event in St. Croix, bringing together a broad range of similarly-minded people who shared his passion. He assisted with this event for more than 20 years. In 1998, he made his home in Putney, where he built Milagro, a beautiful Arts & Crafts home that he enjoyed sharing with visitors. For the last five years, he lived in Guilford, with his partner, Jessica Thomas. His greatest joy and accomplishment was his son Noah, who is now 21 and a student at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y. He was a unique and generous man who loved life and saw beauty everywhere. From birth, Mr. Frank struggled with many serious health conditions, resulting in multiple open heart surgeries. He beat the odds many times throughout his life but, ultimately, he was unable to overcome the complications caused by his condition. Besides his son and life partner, he is survived by his mother Judith Shepherd-Rains and her husband, David Rains; stepmother Leslie Frank; and siblings Cassie and Tiger Frank. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: Memorial services are being planned in Vermont on Sept. 17 at a private residence in Westminster West and in St. Croix on Jan. 29, 2017. For more details, contact Ker-Westerlund Funeral Home in Brattleboro at 802-254-5655.
• John Louis Giandalone, Jr., 64, of West Chesterfield, N.H. Died July 12 at his home. Husband of May (Kusen) Giandalone for 35 years. Father of Jonathan Giandalone of Port St. Lucie, Fla., Joseph Giandalone and his fiancée, Bridget, of Dublin, N.H., Peter Giandalone of West Chesterfield, and Sarah Maguire and husband Reece of Swanzey, N.H. Brother of Thomas Giandalone of Hopewell Junction, N.Y., Lori Hodgkins and her husband, Brud, of Millbrook, N.Y., and Lianne Faughn of Orlando, Fla. Born in Bronx, N.Y., on Feb. 21, 1952, the son of the late John L. and Vincenza A. (Sanzaro) Giandalone, he was raised and educated in West Nyack, N.Y., graduating from Clarkstown High School in New City, N.Y.. He went on to attend Missouri Valley College. A former resident of Jensen Beach, Florida, with his family he moved to West Chesterfield in 2003. He was employed as a sales manager for U.S. Food Service and several other wholesale food companies, retiring earlier this year. Previously, he worked at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, N.H. With his wife, he had attended St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church in Brattleboro. He loved the outdoors, enjoyed landscaping and building stone walls, and puttering around his home. His life centered around his family and he especially enjoyed time spent with his three grandchildren. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: A funeral Mass was held July 18 at St. Michael's Catholic Church. Committal rites and burial will take place on Friday, July 22 in Clove Cemetery in LaGrangeville, N.Y., where he will be laid to rest next to his parents. Donations may be made to a special education account to benefit his grandchildren, in care of TD Bank, 942 Putney Rd., Brattleboro, VT 05301. To sign an online register book or send messages of condolence, visit www.atamaniuk.com.
• Kingsley W. Mitchell, 97, of Brattleboro. Died July 5 at home. He was born in King's Lynn, England, on April 1, 1919. He graduated from Leeds University as an electrical engineer. He was married to Glenys Williams for 70 years before her death in 2013. They immigrated to Canada in 1953 and then to the United States. They also lived in Cuba for two years. After living in New Jersey for a few years, they settled in Massachusetts, where they lived in Holliston and Bourne. He recently lived with his daughter Lorna in Brattleboro. He loved music and sang in church choirs and played both piano and organ. He also was an avid reader and photographer. He is survived by two daughters: Anne G. Hann of Sutton, Mass. and Lorna R. Mitchell of Brattleboro. A third daughter, Janet M. Piateski of Damascus, Md., died in 2014. He is survived by many grandchildren and great grandchildren. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: There will be a memorial service at the Centre Congregational Church in Brattleboro on Saturday, Aug. 20, at 11 a.m. Donations to Brattleboro Area Hospice.
• Glenn Lawrence Slason, 82, of Ocala, Fla., formerly of Brattleboro. Died July 5 in his home. Husband of Leona (Bombardier) Slason for 63 years. Father of Lawrence Slason and his wife, Celia Minott Slason, of Walpole, N.H., Michael Slason and his wife, Kimberley Nelson Slason, of Orlando, Fla, and John Slason of Derby. Brother of the late Wayne Slason. Also survived by five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Born Aug. 30, 1934 in Springfield, Vt., the son of the late Lawrence H. Slason and Marguerite B. Coleman, he grew up in Rawsonville, where he attended the one-room schoolhouse. In 1953, he married Leona Bombardier and they had three sons, Lawrence, Michael, and John. As a young man Glenn worked as a logger in the West River valley for Roy Coleman, Inc. He later worked at The Book Press in Brattleboro. He became an expert in the set up and operation of printing and book bindery machines and was hired to set up a bindery in New Jersey and three other binderies in southern Florida. He was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed fishing and hunting with his sons and spending time with his family. He took many photographs and made CD scrapbooks which are treasured by the members of his family. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: The family will hold a private burial service at the Jamaica Cemetery at a later date. Donations to Hospice of Marion County, P.O. Box 4860, Ocala, FL. 34478.
• Charles Richard “Chuck” Wilkins, 55, of Vernon. Died July 8 at his home, after battling a long illness. Husband of Kimberly (Bacon) Wilkins for 14 years. Father of Tiffany, Lance, Mercedes, and Jay Wilkins. Stepfather of Sasha Daniels and her husband, Justin, JJ Nichols, and Jess Nichols. Brother of Christopher Wilkins and his wife, Jackie, Kelly Willard, and Peggy Olney and her husband Robert. Also survived by nine grandchildren. Born on Aug, 19, 1960 in Burlington, the son of Albert and Joyce Wilkins of Ludlow, he served in the Marine Corps and then in the Army National Guard between 1979 and 1986. He started working for Brattleboro Haulage in 1989 and its successor, BH Trucking, of Hatfield, Mass., until October 2004. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: A funeral service was held July 16 at Calvary Church in Proctorsville, with burial in Pleasant View Cemetery in Ludlow.
• A committal service for Francis O. Cole will be held in Oakwood Cemetery in Townshend on Saturday, July 30, at 1 p.m. Mr. Cole, 86, died on May 31, 2016 in Derby, Vt.