College news
• The following local students have been named to the Dean's List at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine for the winter semester ending in April 2020: Celia Feal-Staub, an art and visual culture/anthropology major from Putney; Pippin Evarts, an English major from Landgrove; and Neil Thorley, a politics major from Londonderry.
In May, Feal-Straub and Evarts both graduated from Bates. Feal-Straub graduated cum laude, while Evarts was inducted into the Bates Scholar-Athlete Society.
Obituaries
• Adelee Grace Austin, 47. Died unexpectedly of a heart attack on Aug. 5, 2020. She was born on Feb. 20, 1973, to George and Clara Kent. She is survived by her two sons, Sammy Burton, and David Austin III; her mother, Clara Dutton; sisters Jenny Seese, and Mary Calise; her loving companion, Jason LeClair; as well as her menagerie of animals: Buddy, Bertha, Pickle Rick, Anna Mae, and 11 chickens. Adelee was a kind, caring, compassionate person to all animals and people. She will be remembered for her many cakes she baked for birthdays, weddings, and a multitude of other occasions. She will also be remembered for all the dogs she fostered throughout her short adult life, including 10 puppies. Her family is sure she is playing at the Rainbow Bridge with all those dogs and cats that are already there. Memorial information: A private memorial will be held by family. Donations may be sent to Wags and Wiggles, P.O. Box 106, Newport, NH 03773.
• Frances R. Boyd, 86, of Brattleboro. Died Aug. 6, 2020 at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Frances was born in West Brattleboro on Aug. 4, 1934 the daughter of the late Harvey and Esther Stark Carrier. She attended grade school in Brattleboro and graduated from Whitingham High School in 1953. Frances worked as a seamstress for many years, at the O.O. Ware Store in Wilmington and, most recently, as a manager for Rite Aid Pharmacy. She enjoyed candlepin bowling, was a former member of the Eastern Star, and was a 4-H leader and Cub Scout Den Leader. She enjoyed knitting, crossword puzzles, and was an avid reader. She loved spending time with her family. Frances is survived by her children: Laurie Boyd of Wilmington, Alan Boyd and his wife, Patricia, of Brattleboro, and Scott Boyd and his wife, Suzanne, of Rowley, Mass.; sisters Bernice Murdock of Townshend and Seraph Stoddard of West Chesterfield, N.H.; and grandchildren Kiley and Collin Boyd. She was preceded in death by her husband, Neil Boyd, whom she married in Brattleboro in 1953. Mr. Boyd died in 2003. She was also preceded in death by her son, Brett Boyd, brothers Edward and Wesley Carrier, and sisters Gladys Boyd and Evelyn Berard. Memorial information: Graveside funeral services were held Aug. 15 at Riverview Cemetery in Wilmington. Donations to the Windham County Humane Society, P.O. Box 397, Brattleboro, VT 05302. To send the family condolences, visit www.sheafuneralhomes.com.
• Emma de Crombrugghe, 87, of Putney. Died peacefully at her home on Aug. 11, 2020. She was born in Sucre, Bolivia, on Nov. 5, 1932, to her beloved mother, who was widowed a few days after Emma's birth, and who raised Emma and her older brothers by working as a seamstress and postal office worker. It was love at first sight when Emma met Benoit de Crombrugghe at a dinner party in Washington, D.C., and they were married nine months later, on July 10, 1965. They recently celebrated 55 years of marriage. The couple lived in Benoit's native Belgium for a few years, then lived in Washington, D.C., with their two daughters, Ines and Isabel, until 1987. The couple moved to Houston, Texas, where they remained for 31 years, and where Benoit served as chair of the department of molecular genetics at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Emma and her husband were warmly welcomed by neighbors and the community when they moved to Putney Commons in 2018 to be closer to family, following the devastating floods of Hurricane Harvey. In Washington, Emma founded an organization called Solidarity to alleviate poverty in Bolivia and Peru. She was an extremely effective fundraiser - building schools, churches, and housing, and providing education and job training, and food and medicine, for various projects in those two countries. Her work and dedication to assisting the indigent continued in Houston. She will be remembered for her passion and tireless dedication to assisting the poor and hungry. Emma absolutely adored and cherished her husband, whom she called her treasure, until her final moments. She had a mega-watt smile that could light up a room, and a charm that could soften even the most unwilling subjects. A devout Catholic, she found remarkable strength in her faith, and believed firmly that God had protected her like a father and blessed her in countless ways. Emma is survived by her beloved family - her husband, Benoit, and her two daughters, Isabel Mendelsohn of Summit, N.J., and Ines McGillion of Dummerston, and her seven grandchildren. She was predeceased by her mother, Rosa Maria de la Llosa, and her older brothers Eric and Alfredo de la Llosa. Memorial information: A celebration of her life will take place when travel restrictions are lifted. To share a memory of Emma or send messages of condolence, www.atamaniuk.com.