Around Town – June 17, 2021

 Congratulations to the following Charlotters who earned academic Dean’s List honors for the spring semester 2021 at the University of Vermont: Hannah Bernier, Annabelle Creech, Mary Feeney, Olivia Hagios, Meara Heininger, Samuel Knox, Trevor McGlaflin, Amelia Pflaster, Antonio Pugliese, Andrew Slauterbeck, Sage WhiteCloud. Dean’s List requires a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 and rank in the top 20 percent of the class.

Congratulations to Sophia Parker who earned placement on Castleton University’s Dean’s List for the 2021 Academic year. Students must be full-time and carry a 3.5 grade point average.

Congratulations to Anna Schibli who earned placement on the St. Lawrence University Dean’s List for the Spring semester. In order to qualify for the list, students must have a grade-point average of 3.6. Anna is a senior at St. Lawrence, Class of 2021. She graduated from Rice Memorial High School.

Congratulations to the following Charlotters who earned degrees from the University of Vermont in 2021: Carly Alpert, BS; Hannah Bernier, B.S.; Caroline Breen, B.S.; James Cazayoux, B.S.; Joseph Cianciola, B.S.; Oliver Creech, B.A.; Alexander D’Amico, B.S.; Katie Emberly, B.S.; Allison Feeney, B.A.; Meara Heininger, B.S.; Shannon Helfman, B.S.; William Holly, B.S.; Thomas McGrade, B.S.; Amelia Pflaster, B.S.; Tristan Roy, B.S.; Wyatt Shea, B.S.; Kyler White-Hansen, B.S.; Livia Yergeau, B.S.

Congratulations to Moira Brown who earned honors on the Dean’s List of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, for the spring semester, 2021. Dean’s List students are required to take at least 12 credit hours and achieve a 3.6 average.

Congratulations to Robert Jimerson, M.D. of Charlotte who was honored by the Vermont Legislature for his service to the Addison County community as its Director of Counseling Services. Dr. Jimerson provided patient care and clinical leadership through Clinical Service of Addison County. He has been mentor and guide to numerous psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners over his tenure that has covered more than 20 years. He began practicing in Burlington and was appointed consulting psychiatrist to the Baird Center.

Congratulations to Steven Wisbaum, the founder and owner of CV Compost, a supplier of products for home gardeners, farmers and landscape contractors that is based in Charlotte, who recently went into the electric mower business in order to reduce CO₂ emissions from gas-powered mowing equipment. His turn to electricity was featured in an article in Seven Days on May 12. The article says that using the cheapest electric riding mower in two-hour periods, once a week for 23 weeks a year “would save $106 in fuel costs and avoid emitting 880 pounds of CO₂.” Although electric mowers do not yet have a major share of the mower market, Steve is optimistic about the future and an increase in sales.

Congratulations to Leath Tonino, a former Charlotter and now regular author about hikes through nature that more often than not are off the beaten track.

In the summer issue of Outside Magazine he writes about being in a “subalpine basin in the backcountry of Colorado’s Elk Mountains.” This time he is without his normal instruments and accoutrements of his journeys into the wilderness. He has no camera, no phone no watch, no spy novels to read or blank journals to fill as he sees fit. He says that “if there’s a plan, it’s an anti-plan.”

As a 16-year-old, Leath hiked the Long Trail of Vermont, north to south and back. One weekend with minimal equipment he set up shop on a frozen creek where for 50 hours he did little more than listen to the “gurgling, groaning, moaning, muttering, maddening, crazy-making water below the ice.”

So, behind this article he is again “sitting by a tarn (a small mountain lake), surrounded by craggy peaks,” vacillating between confusion and gratitude, without the “safety blanket of purpose.” The nights are best, though, as they give one a lonely quiet and a vast and mysterious unknown,” that for Leath comes as close to understanding the universe as nearly anything.

Congratulations to Kate Hartley, former Charlotter, CVU graduate (class of 1981), artist and now consultant living in the Adirondacks, for an article about her work in the January/February issue of the Adirondack Explorer. Kate has taken it upon herself to create a 220-foot-long mosaic on what had previously been a blank concrete wall in her community of North Creek, New York.  Members of the community brought not only ideas for what ought to go on the work, but helped Kate create it. It has been on display for 10 years. According to the Explorer article, the mosaic includes more than 200,000 individual pieces. Kate says she wishes it to be like Pompeii. “When it’s unearthed thousands of years from now, people will say, ‘This is the art they did then.’”

Sympathy is expressed to family and friends of Jacqueline P. Haight who passed away June 1 at the age of 94. She was married to Howard Haight of Ferrisburgh, and they lived on the family’s dairy farm in Charlotte for many years. Jaqueline also worked in the kitchen at the Mt. Philo Inn. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to Lighthouse Christian Church, P.O. Box 658, Montpelier, VT 05601 or to Ignite Church, 1037 South Brownell Rd., Williston, VT 05495.

Sympathy is expressed to family and friends of Irene Cottrell of Plattsburgh, New York, who passed away at the age of 84. Irene’s father served as minister of Charlotte’s Congregational Church, and the family lived in town during Irene’s middle school years. Upon completion of college, Irene began her career as a journalist as Assistant State Editor for the Burlington Free Press. Later, as a reporter for the up-state New York Press-Republican, she covered the Attica Prison uprising and the Clinton Correctional Facility problems at Dannemora. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Plattsburgh, 34 Brinkerhoff St., Plattsburgh, NY 12901.

Obituaries

Terrence John Dinnan
Terry Dinnan and his wife, Marty, died April 19, 2021 in a boating accident by their house on Lewis Creek in Charlotte.

Terry, son of Eleanor and John Dinnan, was born on February 22, 1950 in Meriden, Connecticut. Terry grew up roaming the rural Connecticut woods with his siblings and friends, laying the foundation for his love of Vermont and his home on the river.

Terry was an excellent student, good athlete and steadfast friend. He graduated from Cheshire High School in 1968. Terry began college at University of Vermont, transferred to Boston University for one year, and then decided Vermont was the right place. He graduated from UVM in 1973 with degrees in psychology and fine arts.

During his junior year at UVM he started a long artistic relationship with mentor and friend Paul Aschenbach. Terry was active artistically as a photographer and sculptor after college, especially in Winooski. He participated in several international art symposiums, including projects in Belgium and Japan.

Terry and Marty met working at Free Mountain Toys. They were married at their house on Valentine’s Day in 1986, and their daughter, Tai, was born later that year.

Upon entering fatherhood, Terry’s work shifted to stone masonry. He and his partner, Al Ulmer, purchased a quarry in Essex, New York, and used its limestone for their projects that included exterior walls, patios and fireplaces. In 2020 Terry sold the quarry to Champlain Area Trails, donating his portion. The property is within walking distance of the ferry and is open to the public.

Terry thrived during retirement. He had time to do what he loved: taking as much time as he wanted to creatively solve problems and build useful things in a beautiful way. He managed the house and property and pursued personal interests, including making cheese, wine, bread and wooden bowls. Terry’s last three years were brightened by the regular presence of his grandson, whom he cared for three days a week.

Terry was predeceased by his brother, Jim. Terry is survived by his daughter, Tai Illick Dinnan (Evan Webster), and adored grandson, Lior. He is also survived by siblings Mary (Jan), Chris (Carie), Deb, Jed (Karen), and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Martha Elisabeth Illick
Marty Illick and her husband, Terry, died April 19, 2021 in a boating accident by their house on Lewis Creek in Charlotte, Vermont.

Marty, daughter of Rowland and Edith Illick, was born on August 31, 1950 in Middlebury, Vermont. Rowland’s work as a geography professor led to frequent travel for the family, including two years living in Beirut, Lebanon. Marty graduated from Middlebury Union High School in 1968 and from Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York, in 1972 with a degree in cultural anthropology. She spent her winter term of senior year in Togo, West Africa, studying the village market system for her thesis.

Marty’s personality was punctuated by smiles, unique exclamations and a hearty infectious laugh. She was curious, compassionate and drawn to treading lightly upon this earth. She thrived working in the Vermont creative start-up atmospheres of Shelburne Spinners, Free Mountain Toys and Earth’s Best Baby Food.

For the past two decades Marty worked as Executive Director of the Lewis Creek Association, preserving and protecting precious waters and land. Marty’s work serves as a model for watershed associations across the state. She also served on the Charlotte Selectboard, the Charlotte Planning Commission, the Charlotte Land Trust, the Vermont Natural Resources Board, and many other boards and commissions.

Marty loved tending her homestead and the river that ran through it. She loved growing, preparing, and sharing the bounty of her gardens. Her last three years were brightened and invigorated by the regular presence of her grandson, whom she cared for three days a week. She leaves an active legacy of conservation and passion for living close to the land.

Marty is survived by her daughter, Tai Illick Dinnan (Evan Webster), and adored grandson, Lior. She is also survived by siblings Ginny Jaskot (Ken), Scilla Siano (Jim), John Illick Jr. (Beth), and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

A celebration of the lives of Marty and Terry will be held on August 14 at Shelburne Farms. To learn more and RSVP click here.

Sandra B. Lewis
A celebration of life for Sandra B. Lewis will be held June 27 at the Old Lantern in Charlotte at 3:00 p.m. If you would like to honor Sandra’s loving nature, please join us wearing something red, her favorite color.

Sandra, a life-long resident of Shelburne, passed away after a hard-fought battle with kidney disease on May 10, 2021. She was born on “3-3-30,” the oldest of four children, to Charles Keith and Mary Nancy Byington. Sandra grew up on Harbor Road in Shelburne, graduated from Burlington High School, and settled on Falls Road in a house that quickly became a second home for many neighborhood kids and grandchildren and great grandchildren thereafter. Her door was always open.