College news
• Hunter Smith, a criminal justice major from Westminster, was named to the President's List for the fall 2024 semester at Husson University in Bangor, Maine.
• Jesse Peter Dykes of West Wardsboro, a junior majoring in data science, was named to the Dean's List for the fall 2024 semester at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York.
• Andrew J. Peloso of Townshend was named to the Dean's List for the fall 2024 semester at St. Michael's College in Colchester.
• Devin Speno, a civil engineering major from Brattleboro has been named to the President's List for the fall 2024 semester at Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts. Speno is working toward a BSE in Civil Engineering.
Obituaries
• Fran Bridges, 66, of Graham, Texas, formerly of Brattleboro. Died at her home on Dec. 31, 2024. Fran was born October 13, 1958 in Glasgow, Montana to Theodore and Caroline (Storkson) Rhodes. Fran's life was marked by her dedication to family. She held the titles of "other half" - mom, and Memaw. She occupied her time in many ways depending on what she felt like at the moment. She was known to pick up a wrench and help her "other half" with the dirty work that went with keeping a semi on the road; or the paperwork that went with it. Other times you could find her outside just soaking up the sun, or in the garden cultivating her vegetables. She was even known to spend hours on end walking through Walmart making conversation with whomever she crossed paths with. She will be missed. Survivors include: other half Marty Hurst of Graham; sons Justin Hurst and wife, Sarah and Kevin Hurst, all of Graham; daughters Shalah Hurst of Fort Worth, Texas, and Tara Hurst of Oklahoma; mother Caroline Podrez of Havre, Montana; brothers, Curtis Rhodes and wife, Katherine of Marlboro, Sven Rhodes and wife, Donna of Greenfield, Massachusetts, Anstan Rhodes and wife, Becky of Brattleboro, and Randon Rhodes and wife, Karen of Brattleboro; sister Cheryl Rhodes of Brattleboro and Joan Cutting and husband, Ron of Guilford, Vermont; grandchildren Cory White, Tanner Tomlinson, Caleb Kizziar, Zoe Russell, and Ellie Mae Hurst; extended family Bridget and Bruce Gardner of Brattleboro, Joey and Renee Hurst of Graham, Claudette and Kenny Hawkins, and Garrett Hawkins of Bowie, Texas, and Jenny King of Graham. Memorial information: A funeral service was held Jan. 11 at Morrison Funeral Home Chapel in Graham, with burial in Newcastle Cemetery.
• Catherine Brooks "Kate" Brown, 89, of East Dover. Died peacefully Dec. 30, 2024, at Pine Heights nursing home in Brattleboro following a period of declining health. She was born at home in Wardsboro on June 28, 1935, the daughter of Herbert and Ilene (Bills) Brooks. Kate was raised and educated in Wardsboro, where she attended local schools. In 1953, she met the love of her life, Wallace "Wally" Brown, and they lived inseparably together until his passing on May 7, 2020. Kate had worked at Mary Meyer Toy Company in Townshend in her earlier years and, up until her retirement, was employed by the Dover Elementary School, a position she enjoyed. More importantly, and in conjunction with her full-time jobs, she was a faithful and devoted homemaker whose life centered around her family. Kate was very self-sufficient and, with her husband, kept a large vegetable garden from which they canned much of their vegetables and fruits. She was also an excellent cook and baker. With her husband, she enjoyed square dancing at local and regional dance functions, including at their 50th wedding anniversary party. Active socially, with Wally, she was a member of the Now & Then Car Club and they were proud owners of a 1952 Dodge pick-up truck that won several awards at car shows. Additionally, Kate and Wally held membership in the Windham Wanderers, a private camper group that traveled throughout the New England region. A woman of faith, Kate had attended the East Dover Baptist Church. She enjoyed playing cards (with Wally allowing her to cheat on occasion), and time shared with her family. Survivors include a son, Russell Brown (Kristen Clark), of Hinsdale, New Hampshire; her daughter, Susan Ballantine, of West Dover; and her two grandchildren, Amanda Moshovetis (Michael) of Milton and Jeremy Ballantine (Shelby), of East Dover. Additionally, Kate leaves many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. She was predeceased by a sister, Pauline Holland. Memorial information: A joint memorial gathering in celebration of Kate and Wally's reunion in Heaven will be held Saturday, Feb. 8, from 1 to 4 p.m. at American Legion Post 5 on Linden Street in Brattleboro. Donations to the Windham County Humane Society, P.O. Box 397, Brattleboro, VT 05302. To offer condolences, visit atamaniuk.com.
• Vernon Earl Charlonne, 75, formerly of Jaffrey, New Hampshire. Died Dec. 31, 2024, following an extended illness. He was born in Peterborough, New Hampshire, on May 16, 1949, the son of Homer and Pauline (Cote) Charlonne. He was raised in Jaffrey and Peterborough where he attended public schools. He joined the Navy during the Vietnam War. He worked at DD Bean & Sons in Jaffrey for over 30 years. Vern enjoyed time with family and friends. Riding the back roads of New England, taking in the scenery and wildlife. He also loved to fish and spend time outdoors. His passion was restoring late model cars and trucks. He was first married to Sandra Gallagher who is deceased. He later married Deborah Burnham Eaton, who is also deceased. Survivors include his partner, Anita Lake of Keene, New Hampshire; his two daughters, Lori Lake (Durrell) and Patricia Chapman (Jordan), also of Keene; his stepchildren, Kyle (Ashley) Martin of Jaffrey, Rebecca Eaton of Limestone, Tennessee and her son Anthony Eaton of Jaffrey; sisters Janice Hurd of Gardner, Massachusetts, and Carolyn Haselton (Stan) and Marcia Charlonne (Scott), both of Brattleboro; and sister-in-law Loretta Charlonne of Winchendon Massachusetts, He is also survived by grandchildren Meagan and Lucas (Madeline) Burkhardt and Brenden, Trevor, and Joslynn Roy; extended family members Rickey Lake, Darlene (Dirk) Wilson, and Samuel (Cynthia) Lake and their children and grandchildren Christopher Lake, Tiffany Hardy, and Nicholas; Katie Hardy and Eliot/Lilah, as well as many nieces, nephews, their children and grandchildren, and some very special friends. He was predeceased by his sisters Sheila Charlonne, Joan Ladeau, Patricia Dyer, Colleen Hardy, and Mary Lewis; and brothers Gerald Charlonne, Francis (Bob) Charlonne and Edward Charlonne. Memorial information: In keeping with his final wishes, there are no formal funeral services scheduled. The family is planning a celebration of of his life in this spring. Donations to the Jack Byrne Center for Palliative & Hospice Care (dhmcalumdev.hitchcock.org).
• Darrow Ross Clark, 83, died peacefully with friends by his side on Nov. 5, 2024. Darrow was born on May 28, 1941, the only child of the late Dan and Mary Darrow Clark of Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The last year at Covenant Living in Keene, New Hampshire, was extremely difficult for Darrow and his body finally couldn't take anymore. Darrow was a business educator at Bellows Falls Union High School from 1972 until his retirement in 2004. Darrow had a quick wit and a wonderful sense of humor. He loved his small family, friends, and students. He made a huge impact on the lives of those fortunate enough to have been taken under his wing. One of Darrow's greatest pleasures was travel, which he did extensively throughout his life. Memorial information: A Celebration of Life was held at Covenant Living on Nov. 8, with four members of the clergy there to celebrate the man Darrow was. He would have been humbled by the outpouring and attendance that day. Darrow will be buried later this spring in his family plot in Rocky Mount. His family and friends thank his Covenant Living family and the nurses in the Skilled Nursing Facility for the love and care they gave Darrow to the end of his life. A special thank you goes to his former students Jim Narkiewicz, Jane Mitchell, and Jayne Barber for their continued friendship throughout his life in New England. Darrow will be deeply missed by all who had the pleasure of known him. Fly high, Darrow! Diana is really going to miss you!
• Shirley M. Donahue, 93, of Brattleboro. Died peacefully at Pine Heights Nursing Home on Jan. 5, 2025. Shirley was born Aug. 16, 1931, in Winooski, the daughter of Lionel and Evelyn (Blanchette) Smith. Shirley graduated from Burlington High School and later moved to Hartford, Connecticut, to work in banking and there she met her future husband. She married Hubert P. Donahue on May 25, 1957, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Burlington. They were married for 57 years until Hubert's death in 2015. After raising two children, she returned to work, first at JC Penney in Brattleboro and, later, at Ward Amidon Jewelry Store in Brattleboro, where she became store manager. Shirley developed a fascination with gemstones and worked towards becoming a gemologist. In her retirement years, she and Hubert traveled to Ireland and Canada to explore genealogy. They later wintered in Sebring, Florida, where Shirley developed an interest in golf. Her greatest joy came from her family. She leaves behind her daughter, Deborah Desrosiers and her husband, Marc, of Brattleboro; her son, James Donahue and his wife, Colleen, of Franklin, Massachusetts; grandchildren Sarah (Desrosiers) Simon and her husband, Christopher, of Guilford, Connor Donahue and his wife, Clare, of Northboro, Massachusetts, and Katherine Donahue of Boston, and her fiancé, Tom Schutz; and great-grandchildren Sean and Lindsey Simon and Elizabeth Donahue. She was predeceased by one daughter, Mary Elizabeth, who died in infancy. Memorial information: A funeral Mass was held at St. Michael's Catholic Church on Jan. 11, with burial at Meetinghouse Hill Cemetery where she was laid to rest beside her husband. Donations to St. Brigid's Kitchen and Pantry, 47 Walnut St., Brattleboro, VT 05301. To offer condolences, visit atamaniuk.com.
• Nita Harrison, 88, formerly of Putney. Died peacefully at LiveWell in Plantsville, Connecticut, on Jan. 2, 2025, with her daughter Calico at her side. Nita was born Nov. 4, 1936, in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to the late Wilma and Frank Harrison. She graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a degree in studio art in 1957. In June of that year, she married Donald Harington, and they lived in Boston and Millbrook, New York, before settling in Putney, where Nita continued to live for the next five decades. Nita stayed home to raise their three daughters, while her husband worked as an author and professor. After separating from her husband in 1979, she worked as a librarian and an office administrator at the Brattleboro Retreat, and for various local nonprofit groups, including the Putney Preschool. Nita and Donald were divorced in 1983. Nita enjoyed traveling, and the family lived briefly in both Mallorca, Spain, and Dublin, Ireland, when her daughters were young. She traveled occasionally back to Arkansas to visit her mother and other relatives. Nita loved Wales and Welsh culture and visited the region with her daughter Katy in 1998. Intelligent, creative and witty, Nita had a dry and endearing sense of humor. She had a natural gift for drawing and painting, skillfully rendering her interests and the world around her. She had an eye for interior design and was very handy at finishing furniture and other pieces. She also enjoyed sewing and knitting. Nita loved reading and had an extensive home library. She participated in several book groups and served on the board of the Putney Library for several years. An avid outdoorswoman, Nita enjoyed hiking, camping, backpacking, bird watching, foraging, and nature photography. Cats were her loving, constant companions at home. Her cat fancy extended to wild cats in their natural habitat. Although Nita could be quiet and reserved, she was an excellent listener and an enthusiastic conversationalist, always eager to discuss books, movies, politics, the environment, and historical figures and events. Music played a central role in Nita's life. She played the harmonica proficiently by ear and was an accomplished whistler. Her stereo was kept on throughout the day, to play public radio or music, usually classical. She especially liked Baroque composers and Celtic traditional melodies. Nita is survived by her daughters Jennifer Brizzi of West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Calico Harington (Mig Halpine) of Bethany, Connecticut, and Katy Harington (Pete Zimmerman) of Three Oaks, Michigan; grandchildren Miles Halpine, Ella Halpine, and Sofia and Marco Brizzi; and cousins Jennie Belle Cole and Mary Ann Gwinn and their families. Memorial information: Memories and messages of condolence can be left at nitaharrison.wordpress.com. A memorial service will be held in Putney at a later date.
• Colin J. Tobey, 70, of Wardsboro. Died on Dec. 25, 2024. Colin was born on March 17, 1954, the son of the late Gordon E. (Skee) Tobey and Sylvia (Helstowski) Tobey. Colin was raised and educated in East Dover and was a graduate of Brattleboro Union High School, Class of 1972. He worked hard his whole life for many local trucking and excavating companies. He enjoyed growing his own vegetables. He grew up on Lake Whitingham boating and camping. He loved camping with family and friends on the Connecticut River, Somerset Reservoir, and recently in New York State. He was fond of fishing and looked forward to fishing the LCI Fathers Day fishing derby on Lake Champlain with his two sons and son-in-law. He enjoyed playing rummy with the Bartlett family. He is survived by his children Jason (Maureen) of Wilmington, Jeffery (Jess) of Marlboro, Jolene (Marshall) of Whitingham, and Jessica of Searsburg; grandchildren Lorelei, Tori, Trevor, Corey, and Edward; great-granddaughter Souline; sisters Sharon and Lynn Tobey, and brother Sheldon Tobey. He was predeceased by a sister, Carline (Tobey) Phelps, and a brother, Loren Tobey. He leaves behind nieces, nephews, and many friends. Memorial information: There won't be any formal services, but there will be a celebration of his life at a later date.
• Dr. Janaki Natarajan Tschannerl, 83, died peacefully on Dec. 27 2024 after a brief illness. A beloved lifelong educator and political activist, she is known for her unwavering love, energy, and commitment to social justice and the struggles of poor and working class peoples. Janaki was born in Bangalore, south India, on May 28, 1941, to Dr. C.V. Natarajan and Smt. Saraswathi Natarajan. The family home was full of music, literature, and activity in the milieu of the growing movement for Indian independence from colonial rule. Both parents were committed to anti-caste principles despite their Brahminical origins. Janaki's father, a physician and public health director, would treat patients of all castes and ailments in their home. At Gandhiji's behest, her mother founded an all-girls school for the lowest caste (Dalit). Janaki too embraced these ideals, and after completing secondary school, participated in the Sarvodaya movement. She joined one of Gandhiji's disciples, Vinobhaji, with many others in a year-long walk from Delhi to the Burma border promoting land reform and protesting the impending India-China war. Intrigued by ideas of new ways to organize social life and production, she traveled to the Middle East to experience life on a kibbutz, learning from the contradiction of these ideals in the context of occupied Palestine. Janaki went to England, then the United States, to further her studies, attending Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore, where she earned her B.A. in comparative literature in 1966. She went on to receive a doctorate in sociology from Harvard University in 1970. It was the height of the Vietnam war, and the streets were in political motion. While in Boston, Janaki engaged in student protests on the Harvard campus. She also met and had an influence on Daniel Ellsberg, ultimately playing a role in assisting with the release of the Pentagon Papers, an act largely credited with helping to bring an end to the war. This experience, and the cauldron of ideas emerging from the Civil Rights Movement and global anti-colonial struggles, ultimately led her to Tanzania to teach at the University of Dar es Salaam for close to a decade. She met and studied with Dr. Walter Rodney and Samir Amin, and actively supported African liberation movements in the continent. Janaki also taught political economy for nearly a decade at universities in China, where she learned from the rich debates and accounts of Bill and Joan Hinton. Throughout her teaching, Janaki maintained a political commitment to giving her students tools to inquire about the origin of their own ideas, and providing grounded experiences from which to change them. In the U.S., she taught in environments ranging from public schools and prisons, to universities including Dartmouth College, Keene State College, the School for International Training in Brattleboro, and Marlboro College. She gave guest lectures in the U.S., India, and Japan. Janaki deeply cared about the experiences of children, and ultimately founded two social justice-oriented teacher training programs to develop teachers committed to creating classrooms that would engage children in learning about and changing the world. She founded a nonprofit organization, Educational Praxis Inc, which now supports the Spark Teacher Training Institute and local educational activities in Vermont. Janaki continued to maintain and support the school her mother started in Bangalore, which served thousands of children for decades. She frequently arranged for her U.S. students to spend months at Bapagrama school, learning to think and live differently while helping with logistics there. Janaki started a family in this international context, raising her two children in local schools in East Africa and China with her former husband. Motherhood was her greatest joy, and she was an incredibly devoted mom and grandmother. She moved to Vermont in the 1990s, where she stayed until her death, living with her long time partner. A much-loved teacher, Janaki's household held a constant ebb and flow of current and former students, colleagues, and friends, many of whom became extended family. Janaki wanted her legacy to be in the work and actions of her students, in her words, "to support the best of human experiences and oppose the worst of human actions." The baton has been passed. Janaki leaves behind her two children, Gautama Tschannerl (Andrea Tschannerl) and Dr. Asiya Tschannerl (Dr. Ernesto Guevara); grandchildren Seeta Guevara and Zaria Tschannerl; longtime partner Burke Cummings; father of her children and former husband Dr. Gerhard Tschannerl; nieces, nephews, and cousins; countless former students and friends. She was predeceased by her parents and brother Dr. S.N. Balasubrahmanyam. Memorial information: None provided.
• Thelma Beatrice (Norman) Underwood, 98, of Brattleboro. Died Jan. 3, 2025, in the comfort of her home, with family by her side. Thelma was born at the Brattleboro Mutual Aid Maternity Home on Walnut Street on Jan. 27, 1926, to Charles Emmet Norman and Mildred Prescott Norman. She was delivered by Dr. Grace Burnett, Brattleboro's first woman doctor, since Memorial Hospital, as it was then known, didn't yet have a maternity ward. Thelma's very early years were spent in Vernon, where she attended school in a one-room schoolhouse. The family later relocated to Brattleboro. Entrance into fourth grade at Green Street School was emotionally challenging, Brattleboro being the big city to her. She graduated from Brattleboro High School in 1943, and applied to and was accepted for a wartime federal nurses' training program in New York State, but shortly thereafter, while riding the bus to work, she noticed Floyd Underwood, recently discharged from the Army following combat wounds in North Africa. She declared to a friend, "I'm going to marry him," and two weeks later, on March 17, 1944, she did. Always impetuous, Thelma dove happily into married life, though everyone thought it was unlikely that a marriage between people who had known each other for two weeks would survive. She proved them wrong, and the marriage lasted for 59 years until Floyd passed away in August 2003. Thelma's first job, at 13, was cleaning the newly-built Cabin Park cabins in West Brattleboro, earning $5 a week, a handsome wage for a young person at that time. At 15, she worked at Evans's Luncheonette in the Paramount Building in Brattleboro, which she recalled fondly. After high school, she worked at American Optical on Putney Road until her marriage and, after her marriage, short stints stitching coveralls at Hooker, Corser, and Mitchell on Frost Street for a wartime government contract, working at Houghton & Simonds on Main Street, as well as stitching baseballs for Spaulding on Birge Street, soldering panels for another company on Birge Street, and taking in some sewing at home from individuals. She stayed home with her two daughters until 1953, when she took a full time job with the Holstein Association, retiring in 1988, after 35 years of service. An extremely talented seamstress, Thelma sewed throughout her life, creating countless garments for her two daughters and going to her sewing machine virtually every night after dinner. She also created wonderful teddy bears and other items for her grandchildren. In 1963, she created new uniforms for the entire Brattleboro Union High School majorette squad and used the proceeds to fund a family trip to the 1964 New York World's Fair. Through the years, Thelma was the extremely organized keeper of the family's history, safeguarding old family objects and memorabilia, creating many beautifully done photograph albums that included both very old and current photos, and undertaking the enormous task, decades ago, of having slides made of countless old photographs, thus preserving them and providing the foundation for the next generation to have the slides digitized. She also created the legendary, enormous scrapbook of newspaper clippings of family news and countless other items, a family treasure, which never failed to be a focus of interest to any visiting person, family or otherwise, flipping through the years and years of all kinds of memories. Thelma and Floyd rarely strayed far, happy just to be at home in Brattleboro. The family didn't have a car until 1962, when Thelma bought her father's Nash Rambler, following his death. Prior to acquiring the Rambler, Thelma would leave work at the Holstein, walk up Main Street to the First National grocery store, on the bottom level of what is now the Brooks House, do her grocery shopping, and leave the store with three big paper bags of groceries and walk up High Street hill with her arms wrapped around these bags, which would start to tear open before reaching home. Always rugged and non-complaining, Thelma simply did what needed to be done. After acquiring the car, she hired a driving instructor and got her license. This opened up the world considerably for Floyd and Thelma. However, even with a car, Thelma continued to walk to work at the Holstein every day, and attributes her long life in part to her earlier extensive physical exercise, unusual even in the 1950s and 1960s. Thelma was determined, talented, and to the point with her opinions, yet often felt inferior to others. She was a hard worker and extended kindness to children and adults who were in need of emotional or material assistance, and donated more than six gallons of blood over the course of several decades. In her later life, Thelma enjoyed biking, walking and snowshoeing in the country with Floyd, where they both loved the solitude and peacefulness. She successfully pursued the acquisition of various military medals that Floyd had earned during his service in World War II, but not received, including the Purple Heart, and arranged them beautifully under glass for display. She was a past president of the Women's Evening Club, and enjoyed activities with her many friends from the Holstein. For more than 25 years, Thelma contributed countless hours to VFW Post 1034, including serving 20 years as the Ladies' Auxiliary Treasurer, and being in charge of food for sale at Bingo each week. For most of those years, Thelma made all of the food, having help only to put together the prepared sandwich makings and other items. She kept expanding the menu, and people lined up for her food, raving especially about her pies. Her efforts made a great deal of money for the Ladies' Auxiliary, which then went to worthy causes supported by the VFW. For some of those years, she also made pies for the American Legion Friday night fish fries. In 2018 she was featured as a Super Senior by WCAX-TV, in which she was interviewed while engaging in her activities at the VFW. She was very strong, both in body and personality, and forged ahead no matter what. She was into her 90s before stopping the Bingo cooking, slowed down by age and also by moving from her condo, where she had a large kitchen. A year after Floyd's death in 2003, Thelma began 16 years of companionship with Roland Therriault, who passed away in 2020. Living such a long life, Thelma saw many changes in the evolution of technology. At the age of 94, she requested her first computer, and her granddaughter got her completely set up with a brand-new iPad and Thelma never looked back. Even at her advanced age, she required remarkably little computer support and her iPad became her link to the world. She loved being a presence on Facebook, as well as sending and receiving emails and Skyping with family. Ever since the construction of the new bridge between Brattleboro and Hinsdale began, Thelma's stated goal was to live long enough to see the bridge completed. On Christmas Day, in the midst of her rapidly failing health, she was able to accomplish her goal, and had a slow, leisurely ride from the Vermont side to New Hampshire and back again. This in effect became not just a physical bridge, but a bridge for her to leave her nearly 100 years of life behind. Content with crossing her bridge and being back in her own home, she let go of her life completely over the next several days. Thelma leaves two daughters, Sheila (Paul) Blecharczyk of West Roxbury, Massachusetts, and Sharon (Ron) Viarengo of White River Junction; stepson Frank (Priscilla) Underwood of West Chesterfield, New Hampshire; grandchildren Ian (Howie Chen) LaRose, Noah LaRose, Kara (Jeff) Hall, Nathan (Elizabeth) Blecharczyk, Justin (Heidi) Blecharczyk, step-grandchild Wendy Underwood, and great-grandchildren Kellen and Kendrick Hall, Ava and Max Blecharczyk, Bodhi Blecharczyk, Isadora and Charlotte Chen-LaRose, and step-great-grandchildren Franklin, Daniel and Benjamin Farnham. In addition to her husband and parents, Thelma was predeceased by her brother, Donald Norman, sister, Christine Page, nephew, Brent Harrington, and step-grandchild, Scott Underwood. Memorial information: There will be a private family gathering at a later date, and burial will be next to Floyd in North Cemetery. Donations can be sent to Trusted Choice Eldercare, LLC, P.O. Box 30, Spofford, NH 03462.
This Milestones item was submitted to The Commons.