Around Town – February 10, 2022
Congratulations to:
to Seth Boffa, a freshman at Middlebury College, who achieved Dean’s List for the fall 2021 semester. To be selected, students must carry a full course load and have a 3.3 grade point average with no grade lower than a B minus.
to Jared Badger and to Judy Buxton who both earned MBA degrees in Business Administration from Champlain College at the end of the fall 2021 semester.
to Sophia Kehr, class of ’24 at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York, who was named to Dean’s List for the fall 2021 semester after completing a full course load with at least a 3.5 grade point average.
to Margaret Eagan whose poem “Dear body” appeared on the January 28 Burlington Free Press. In it she suggests to her body, with its ability to repair itself, that it follow the rules, saying, “Wouldn’t it be better if with these rules you could align?”
Obituary
Yvan Gilbert Joseph Plouffe
On Feb. 1, 2022, heaven gained a lifelong farmer and generous friend. Yvan Gilbert Joseph Plouffe was born on Sept. 30, 1937 to Romeo and Deliose (Lambert) Plouffe in Quebec, Canada. The sixth of 10 children, Yvan moved to Charlotte in 1956 with his parents and bought their Carpenter Road farm in 1966. He continued to grow the dairy farm until 1986, when he participated in the dairy buyout. He continued haying and kept a large herd of beef cattle until 1996.
Not one to sit still, his hobbies were plentiful. He was a master at beekeeping and collected honey by the gallons using his “special” smoke. Maple sugaring was one of his many passions, and he would throw the best old-fashioned sugaring parties. Sugar on snow and maple cream were served to hundreds of visitors each year.
Flowers and plants of every variety took root at Yvan’s home. He had a greenhouse of remarkably fragrant roses. He perfected the art of growing tomatoes, and produce was abundant from his garden. His orchard also expanded, and peaches, plums, apples and grapes grew in all corners of his property. He gave away thousands of roses and bushels of produce each summer.
Yvan built his house, woodshop and a sugarhouse on Plouffe Lane. The Charlotte Senior Center is graced with his handcrafted tables, and family and friends own his farm tables as well.
Yvan took up pottery as a winter hobby at the Shelburne Craft School. He also appreciated art in many forms: abstract art pieces and metal chickens adorned his property, and a concrete fork and spoon marked his driveway entrance. This was a clear landmark for Yvan’s many visitors, who were told to “turn right at the fork in the road!”
Yvan spent most days in his trusty Subaru, traveling through every corner of Chittenden County. He typically put 30,000 to 40,000 miles a year on his cars while delivering roses, maple syrup and produce to friends near and far.
Thanks to Hope Hospice in Fort Myers, Florida, for their wonderful care of Yvan in his final weeks of declining health, upon what was supposed to be just a short winter’s vacation. Their gentleness and compassion will always be remembered.
Yvan is survived by his brother Norman (Evelyn) of Montreal, Canada, and sisters Laureanne Plouffe and Agnes Lussier (Renald) of Charlotte, Edith Robinson (Jim) of Isle LaMotte/Ft. Myers, and Danielle Wineman Zimmermann (Peter) of Virginia. He was predeceased by his parents, along with sisters Denise and Constance, and brothers Cyril and Bertrand (all of Canada). He leaves lots of cousins and three generations of nieces and nephews who looked up to him with love, respect and lots of laughter. And his many, many friends, too numerous to mention—may you all know the joy you brought to his life.
A celebration of Yvan will be held later this year. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Hope Hospice in Ft. Myers, Florida, or plant a rosebush in Yvan’s honor.