Around Town: Jan. 11

Condolences

Edwin Henry Amidon Jr., age 89, of Charlotte died peacefully after a short hospital stay on Dec. 26, 2023.
Ed grew up in central New York, graduating from Central Square High School (Oswego County) in 1951. He worked for a year as a junior draftsman at New Process Gear Corp. in Syracuse before entering Williams College, from which he graduated in 1956.

Following college, Ed was admitted to Air Force Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in May 1957. He initially served at a radar station in Montana before being transferred to Washington, D.C., and assigned to the Central Intelligence Agency. Following his active duty, Ed entered the CIA training program and was employed as a case officer for several years.

In the early ’60s, Ed attended Harvard Law School, graduating cum laude. He went to work for the Boston firm of Foley, Hoag & Eliot, where he was involved primarily in public utility, securities and banking areas, as well as state and federal regulatory matters.

In late 1968, a call came from Jim Jeffords, a law school acquaintance and newly elected Vermont Attorney General. Ed wasted little time in accepting an offer to become an assistant attorney general in a then-small office. This gave him the opportunity to argue the “Nearby Differential” federal milk price regulation on behalf of the state of Vermont in the U.S. Supreme Court.

After his service in Montpelier, Ed was fortunate in the early 1970s to be hired by the Burlington firm headed by Judge Albert Coffrin, later to become Coffrin, Pierson, Affolter & Amidon, and then Pierson, Affolter & Amidon after the appointment of Judge Coffrin to the U.S. District Court bench. He quickly acquired a banking and utility practice, and also assisted with the firm’s insurance defense practice.

In 1976, Ed was appointed to the Superior Court bench by Gov. Thomas Salmon. This was under the old system where eight general trial jurisdiction judges “rode circuit” to the far corners of the state. Ed was proud of his trial court decisions involving application of the Vermont Constitution, including the constitutional challenge to Act 250, the Sunday closing “Blue Law” and electoral cases. The Act 250 decision was the subject of an article in the Vermont Law School Review.

Ed left the bench in 1983 to return to private practice in Burlington and ultimately joined in a long-time partnership with Robert Roessler, Richard Whittlesey and Marsha Meekins. He was proud to be a “lawyer’s lawyer,” representing other lawyers in the Professional Conduct Board and providing ethics opinions. As mediation and arbitration came into common use, these became a major part of his practice as well as acting as a hearing officer or advisor for state agencies, municipalities and non-profit organizations. Ed was on the Vermont Bar Association Board of Managers for many years and was president in 1990-91.

He remained in the Air Force Reserve until 1980, assigned primarily to Air Force Intelligence Center, and retiring as a major. In the late ’80s, Ed was appointed by Gov. Madeleine Kunin to the Vermont State Assistance Corporation board, serving 12 years including as chair of the governance committee and was a member of the Champlain Valley Union High School board from 1992-96, including serving as vice chair.

Ed represented Charlotte in the Vermont House from 2001-04, where he sat on the Ways & Means Committee. He completed his public service as a trustee of the University of Vermont from 2003-09, where he was chair of the audit committee and vice chair of the governance committee and as chair of the state Act 60 Town Valuation Board from 2011-15.

Many happy hours were spent paddling one of his fleet of canoes on Lake Champlain and in his favorite sport of “hiking with canoes” between small ponds and lakes in the Adirondaks. Ed was an early and active member of the Northern Vermont Canoe Cruisers, now the Vermont Paddlers Club. Whitewater runs were explored and made in aluminum canoes with no flotation or spray covers, including the Hudson River Gorge prior to the era of water releases and commercial raft trips. Many family paddling trips to Algonquin Park in Ontario and with family and friends into the tundra rivers of northern Canada were prized parts of Ed’s life.

In the early years of back-country skiing, he was privileged to have the location of the now well established Bolton-Trout Club Road train marked for him on a topographical map by one of its builders.

Ed was a long-time member of the First Unitarian-Universalist Society of Burlington where he taught Sunday school in the ’70s and ’80s and later served on the church board of trustees.

He was a very active and greatly loved husband, father and grandfather, survived by Louise McCarren, his wife of over 45 years; his daughter, Martha Ware, and her husband, Andrew Ware, of Chalfont St. Giles, England; his daughter, Jane Amidon, of Beverly, Massachusetts; his son, William Amidon, and his wife, Susan Parsons, of Cornwall, Vermont; and his stepson, Patrick McCarren, of South Burlington, Vermont. Survivors also include his grandchildren Georgia Ware, Mattie Ware, and Eliza Ware, of Chalfont St. Giles, England; Nora Hopkins, of Beverly, Massachusetts; Pippa Amidon and Marley Amidon, of Cornwall, Vermont; his sister, Marion Amidon, of Gardner, Massachusetts; as well as nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was predeceased by his parents, Edwin Henry Amidon Sr. and Elaine Wilson Amidon, and his sister, Ann David.

A service will be held at the Charlotte Congregational Church, a date to be announced.

Margaret “Patty” Rice Stout died peacefully in her Shelburne, Vermont, home on December 16, 2023. She was surrounded by loving family and friends. She was 86 years old.

Patty lived an incredible and vibrant life. She enjoyed 65 years of marriage to her devoted husband, Prentice, and enjoyed time with her sons, their families and her many friends. Patty was a gifted musician, a lover of natural history, a voracious reader and a world traveler. Those who knew her were blessed to know a wonderful wife, sister, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend. Patty loved to travel with Prentice. Together, they explored the world and embarked on intriguing voyages to Africa, the Galápagos Islands, Antarctica and most of Europe. She and Prentice instilled their love of travel, music and theater in their sons and grandchildren, bringing them along on international trips and regularly taking them to New York City for concerts and shows on Broadway.

As a musician, she taught piano lessons to many children, accompanied numerous talented musicians, attended countless concerts and spread her love and passion for music of all kinds. During her time in Wakefield, R.I., she helped found the Kingston Chamber Music Festival, now in its 35th year. She was also well known in the Kingston community for her musical events, particularly the beloved holiday caroling she and Prentice hosted for many years.

Patty was born in Asheville, N.C., in 1937. She attended the Tenacre School in Wellesley, Mass., and Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, Conn. She enjoyed most summers at her family’s home at Jockey Hill Farm in Shrewsbury.
Patty married Prentice Stout in 1955 and they raised their family in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Rhode Island. Ultimately, the family settled in Wakefield, where they lived for nearly 50 years. After raising her sons, Patty attended the University of Rhode Island where she graduated in 1982 with a bachelor of arts in music with honors.

In September 2021, Patty moved from Rhode Island to Shelburne where she became a beloved member of the Wake Robin community. For the past two years, Patty enjoyed the many new friends she made at Wake Robin and thrived by participating in various activities available to her. The dynamic cultural scene in Burlington and the proximity to her son Tim and his wife, Nan, made the last two years of Patty’s life comfortable, active and surrounded by love.

Patty is survived by her sons, Christopher K. Stout (Lisa) of Tiverton, R.I., Timothy M. Stout (Nan) of Burlington; her beloved grandchildren, Alison Stout, Emily Stout (Josh Creaser), Eliza Yashari (Jonathan), and Charlie Stout (Sarah); and two great-grandchildren, Abe and Faye Yashari. She is also survived by her brother David Rice (Dorothy) and sister-in-law Meredith Stout. She was an inspiration to all and will be greatly missed.
Donations in Patty’s honor can be made to the Jonnycake Center of Peace Dale, the Kingston Chamber Music Festival, the Kingston Congregational Church (R.I.), or to Pierce’s Store via the Preservation Trust of Vermont. A celebration of life for Patty and Prentice will be held at a later date in Kingston.

Congratulations

Curt Alpeter of Charlotte has been named CEO of the Grafton Village Cheese Company.

Alpeter was most recently president of Runamok Maple, based in Fairfax, a nationally-recognized specialty food brand.

Grafton Village Cheese (graftonvillagecheese.com) is part of the nonprofit Windham Foundation of Grafton, whose mission is supporting Vermont’s rural communities.

Alpeter will lead the historic and award-winning handmade cheese business, including operations, retail and wholesale distribution.

“Curt brings a wealth of specialty food knowledge and 33 years of experience building Vermont companies. He is passionate about promoting Vermont’s agrarian economy, land stewardship and specialty cheese making,” says Windham Foundation Board of Trustees Chair, Bill Bruett.

Alpeter has also served as board chair to Audubon Vermont and has been a member of several other non-profit boards including the Charlotte Land Trust and North Country Federal Credit Union.