College news
• Oliver Goodman of Brattleboro was named to the Dean's List for academic excellence for the fall 2017 semester at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md.
Obituaries
• Janet Bates, 59, of Brattleboro. Died Feb. 12, 2018. She was born on July 20, 1959 in Summit, N.J., to William and Nancy Bates. Her early years were spent in Westfield and Sparta, N.J., Edgartown, Mass., and Berlin, Vt. She graduated from U-32 High School in East Montpelier and continued her education at Boston University, where she graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. degree in broadcast journalism. In her early years in radio, she was “Janet From Another Planet,” working at WXKS and WVBF in Boston, and at WIOQ and WMMR in Philadelphia. At several of these stations, she also held promotion and news writing positions. In New York City, she drove the WNBC “N” Car and was on the air with Howard Stern, and later was the morning drive time deejay for Z-100. In her later years, she studied at Keene State College, and worked as a counselor at the Brattleboro Retreat in Brattleboro. She volunteered at the Brattleboro Community Center, Big Brothers and Sisters, and Women's Crisis Center. Always an excellent cook and homemaker, her favorite hobbies were writing, acting, skiing and swimming. She was a beautiful soul who has left us way too soon - a much-loved daughter, sister, and aunt, and all who knew her were touched by her captivating personality. She is survived by her mother, Nancy Wood; her sisters Lesley Tripp, Jill Gardner, Sally Bates, Jennifer Bates, and Sandra Varno; nine nieces and nephews and her beloved cat, Lulu. Her sister, Susan Bates, predeceased her in 2015. Memorial information: There will be a gathering to celebrate her life later this year.
• Kathryn Elizabeth “Kay” Hall, 90, formerly of Brattleboro. Died April 2, 2018. She was born in Brattleboro on May 31, 1927, the daughter of Hubert Royal Hall and Mary McGrath Hall. After her mother died when she was just two, she was raised by her father and stepmother, Ruby Myrick (Huestis) Hall. She graduated from Brattleboro High School and worked at the Holstein-Friesian Association. Her adult life unfolded in three stages. The first began in 1947, when she and Leslie A. Neal were married, and then moved to Walpole, N.H., in 1951. They were married for 34 years. Each home where they lived on the Walpole Common was a welcoming place where the neighborhood children and beyond would congregate to play, receive TLC, and enjoy her baked goods and home-cooked meals. The family's life was filled with attending sporting events, days at their cottage on Granite Lake, and hosting the family holiday gatherings. She supported her husband's businesses, L.A. Neal Associates and Brown and Roberts Hardware, working part-time at both. She was a life member of the First Congregational Church of Walpole and the Bingham Chapter #30, Order of Eastern Star in Brattleboro. She later lived in Chester with her second husband, Leonard Jerome. She enjoyed several cross-country road trips, spent countless hours creating beautiful crewel and slate projects for family and friends, and traveled often to Walpole and Brattleboro to visit those she loved, and to the ocean, especially Nubble Light in Maine. Throughout her life, she, in her own right, fulfilled her young wish of becoming a nurse by loving everyone, caring for young and old, extending kindnesses to friends and strangers, and always doing what was right in her mind. Her care-giving of others continued in the last years of her life when she chose to live at Maplewood Assisted Living in Westmoreland, N.H., when her eyes began to fail. She embraced her new friends and the staff as her extended family. Her days there can be depicted by white pearls on Sunday for church, watching the Boston Red Sox, tackling Sudoku and word jumbles, sending large print emails to family, attending music events and other activities, knitting blankets for others, and enjoying the birds and flowers on her walks to the screen house to look down at the Connecticut River. Besides her parents, she was predeceased by her infant brother William Ernest Hall, her sister Virginia Hall Willard, stepsister Cecile Briggs, stepbrother William T. Huestis, Jr., and her beloved son, John Leslie Neal. She is survived by her daughter Mary Kathryn Beer and husband, Josiah; her son, James Hall Neal and his wife, Patti; her daughter-in-law Christine Neal Gowen and her husband, Tim; her husband Leonard Jerome and his son Geoff and family, as well as nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Memorial information: Her wish is for a family graveside service which will be when the grass is green and the flowers are in bloom. She would be so pleased for any donations given to the Assisted Living Activity Dept. of Maplewood Assisted Living, 201 River Rd., Westmoreland, NH, 03467.
• Elisabeth Valentine Swift, 94, of Brattleboro. Died March 23, 2018. Her friends and family knew her as “Betsy” and “Swiftie.” She was born in New York City to Dorothea V Abbott Swift and Dr. Walker E Swift. She grew up in Darien, Conn., and New York City. She attended The Brearley School, The Putney School, and Radcliffe College. She was recruited into the Foreign Service in 1947 and worked for the Central Intelligence Agency until 1975. During those years, she lived in Washington D.C., Germany, Austria, and Turkey. In her last assignment, there were 60 people under her management. She was a woman of competence, humility, and some intrigue. She was a lover of books, nature, music, art, and travel. She had a wonderfully droll sense of humor. She was a spirited, spiritual, thoughtful and progressive woman. She was also a devoted volunteer with the Brattleboro Music Center, Brattleboro Area Hospice, Marlboro Music Festival, and Windham World Affairs Council, to name only a few. She was a Guardian ad Litem for a number of years. St. Michael's Episcopal Church was very important to her. As a member for over 30 years, she served in many ways, including the Vestry and the Altar Guild. She was curious about people of all ages and had an alert intelligence. She was much loved by her family and many old and new friends, and she loved them back. Abbott M Swift, her older brother, predeceased her. Dr. Lucy H Swift of Cornwall, N.Y., her younger sister, survives her. Her three nieces include Dorothea Swift (deceased); Ann S Davenport, married to Richard; and Deborah S. Carter, married to John; three great-nephews - Caleb Carter, married to Sachiko, Jacob Carter, married to Theresa, and Jesse Carter. Memorial information: There will be a service to celebrate her life on June 9 at 11 a.m., followed by a reception, at St. Michael's Episcopal Church. 16 Bradley Ave., Brattleboro. Donations may be made to Jerusalem Peace Builders Leadership Institute in Brattleboro, St. Michael's Episcopal Church, in Brattleboro, and/or Vermont Public Radio.
Services
• The committal service for Janice Longe will be held at the Dummerston Center Cemetery on Sunday, April 15, at 2 p.m., with Pastor Art Miller officiating.