Elizabeth LaBombard Burlington native, longtime waitress at F.W. Woolworth • Robert Kirkbride WWII veteran, linchpin in Ludlow • Michael Johnson Vietnam veteran • Joseph Metallo Navy vetereran, worked for GE Plastics for 42 years • Robert Poulin Proprietor of Home Plate Baseball Cards • Irene Santulli Born in Brooklyn, lived in Shelburne • George Winfield UVM dean and VP, a gardener with “fingers of gold” • Michael Rappold Lifelong skier and sports fan, devoted husband • Helen Withers Proudly graduated college at 39 • Bernard Parrott Longtime worker for Winooski School Department • Olivia Jean Duffy Excellent seamstress, loved the ocean, concerts and casinos • Leonard Jarvis Devoted Yankees fan and hockey dad • David Reissig HS basketball star and federal agent • Robert Burdo Air Force veteran and lifelong Yankees fan • Harriet Cruickshank Catechism teacher, loved traveling with husband George • Rama Rawal Immigrated from Gujarat, India, worked for a better world • Burton McGowan Air Force tail-gunner and skeet shooting champ • Patricia Ann Hayes Adoring aunt and pet mother to Sadie • Cleon Boyd Groomed Mount Snow ski trails • Ronald Taft Johnny Cash fan • Franklin Delano Bray Woodworker, coin collector and family man • Patricia Farnham Enjoyed long car rides on Vermont’s back roads • Bernard Juskiewicz State rep. from 2013-2018 • Neil Pollard Quick to crack a joke • Thomas Christian Cairo Shrine mini car driver • Evangelos Alvanos Burlington-area restaurateur • Naomi McCullough Provided care in nursing homes and psych hospitals • Margaret Hayes Taught dance and music at UVM • Donald Alter Loved music, motorcycles and the Mad River Valley • James Ballen Psychologist who loved the outdoors and dancing • Roger Guillemette Worked for South Burlington schools and on the family farm • Jacqueline Nutt Helped at a soup kitchen • Patrick Pillon “Legend” of Farrell Distributing • Diana Byrd Much loved wife, mother, daughter and sister • Thomas Reynolds Navy radioman in Vietnam • Stephen Albright Self-taught musician • Hubert Paradee Driver with the “cleanest grain truck in Vermont” • Ivalou Dike Worked and volunteered at UVM Medical Center • Coralyn Wescott Volunteer for Ladies Auxiliaries of VFW and American Legion • Dennis Villa County court secretary • Marilyn Hesford Burlington educator and champion of workers’ rights • William Mallow Owner of Mallow’s Market • Edna May Ball Mother of eight, grandmother to 23 • Rita Anne Ellis Grocery store clerk • Mary Couture Homemaker from Colchester • Theresa Gamache Loved boating on Lake Champlain • Stacey Nelson Proprietor of Dunwright Taxi • Sandra Anderson Laundry service operator from Hinesburg • Susan Morgan Nurses aide for the aging • Marie Brosseau Winner of 1982 Mrs. Maple contest for her famous Maple Dream Bars • John Kupferer History teacher, principal and football coach • Laura Gonyeau Gifted and beloved teacher of math • Chad Rocheleau High school athlete and baseball/football enthusiast • Melvin Dunster LNA at Vermont State Hospital • Gertrude Burdick Avid reader, lover of Chicago Cubs • John Zawistowski Marble worker and auto enthusiast • Rita DiSalvo Born in Ireland, homemaker in Rutland • Michael Nikonchuk Space research engineer • Mary Pat Brown Porter Hospital ER nurse and mother of six • Ralph Swett Founded Brownington general store, led local Abenaki clan • Thomas Canavan Had a quiet but strong sense of humor • Carolyn Lane Bookkeeper to many Brattleboro businesses • Charles Akley Served in U.S. Army during Korean War • Patricia Bessette Died two days apart from husband Dona, inseparable for 68 years • Phyllis Weinrich Attorney in Burlington • Chester Bray Forklift operator, lost brother to Covid in April • Wendell Mudgett Sixth generation Vermonter, farmer, frequent volunteer • Dona Bessette Died two days apart from wife Patricia, inseparable for 68 years • Anna White Christmastime mitten knitter and cookie baker • John Dube Fostered at-risk teens • Joan Reen Operated Willow Crossing restaurant • Joan Bruns Provided hospice care • Roger Vachereau Worked at IBM and St. Joseph’s School • Rosaire Robitaille Enjoyed sulky racing and horse pulls • Michael Smolin Innovator of environmental cleanup processes • Blanche Tetreault LPN at Heaton House Nursing Home in Montpelier • Henry Blindow Refinished and sold coffee tables at Newport Farmer’s Market • John O’Connor Public utility lineman • Mary Jane Messier Operated Donna’s Community Care Home • Frena Phillips Worked for Westford schools and town government • Osman Yarrow Somali refugee and custodian in Burlington • Michael Cassidy Marine during Vietnam and proud VFW member • John Loop Navy WWII vet and avid fisherman on Lake Champlain • Wayne Bouvier Bus driver and Korean War vet • Alice Bruno Mother, grandmother and sister • Doris Rudenis Homemaker in Rutland • Anita Haskins Loved singing, dancing and board games with family • David Foster Farmer from Middlebury • James McCluskey Trucker and Vietnam vet • Ann Wilkins Member of Christ the King Church and Catholic Daughters of America • Margaret Guthrie Volunteered at Fanny Allen Hospital • Jane Frances Lane Teacher • Ruth Fienemann Respiratory therapist at Mary Fletcher Hospital • Leona Gutwin Immigrated from Saskatchewan, Canada • Lydia Smith Teacher’s assistant • Sally Morway Motorcycle rider and dog lover • Lorene Shepard Worked in Christian charities and radio • Diane Meunier Homemaker born and raised in Burlington • Gloria Bancroft First female detective for Burlington Police
Vermont reported its 100th fatality from the coronavirus on Dec. 15, amid a wave of illness that’s proven to be deadlier than the first.
From March through May, 52 Vermonters lost their lives to Covid-19. The next five months passed quietly, with only three deaths reported through October. But in November, the virus once again infected communities around the state, quickly spreading to nursing homes. Since then, 57 more have died.
Among them: Lorene Shepard, a mother of three who spent her final days in a hospital room with her husband of 65 years. Both were stricken with the virus. Tom Canavan, a lifelong Rutlander and father of four, who moved into a nursing facility just weeks before an outbreak there began. Ralph Swett, who established a general store in Brownington and led a local Abenaki clan. And Mary Pat Brown of Bristol, a nurse and mother of six, whose children pressed Gov. Phil Scott to remind Vermonters of the lives behind the statistics.
The second wave of Covid has been regarded with a mix of caution and fortitude. Health officials have reminded Vermonters to follow guidelines to limit the spread, while emphasizing that we understand far more about how to prevent and treat the disease than we did just months ago. Initial doses of a vaccine are already being administered.
But death from the virus continues in much the same way. Like before, it has disproportionately hit older Vermonters and those with chronic illness. Most family members still hold their last conversations by phone or video chat, barred by nursing home or hospital restrictions from being by their loved one’s side. Most are still waiting to hold memorial services until they can gather safely.
The latest deaths offer a sobering reminder about Vermont’s relative success at containing the virus over the summer: that while people at low risk for infection resumed some normal habits, the threat of a fatal infection never ended for many.
Advocates for the elderly have not let their guard down since March, said Janet Hunt, executive director of the Vermont Association of Area Agencies on Aging. “This whole year has been something that nobody expected,” she said.
While mask-wearing and social distancing have become normalized, Hunt’s worries have been a constant. One person’s slip-up could bring the virus into a nursing home. “A young person that might be going to a restaurant or a bar, mingling without a mask and not keeping social distance, doesn’t know the impact that that has when they go into a facility to work the next day,” she said.
“We all relaxed in the fall, and we’re all tired of this,” said Ruby Baker, executive director of the Community of Vermont Elders. But the deadly outbreaks that followed were preventable, she said, and the worst outcomes are likely yet to be seen.
“There’s that feeling that we may be wrapping up the year, technically, but it feels like we’re escalating again,” Baker said. “It also just feels sort of extra tragic to know that there is a vaccine in the state, and that people are starting to get it, and yet it’s going to be just a hair too late for a lot of people.”
Covid destabilized the elder care landscape in ways that only continued during the period when case counts were suppressed. Visitation guidelines barely loosened before the fall surge, preventing most family members from providing ad hoc in-person care. Social isolation remains a major concern. Staff shortages curtailed adult day cares and in-home medical services, Hunt said, forcing more seniors into residential facilities with higher risk of outbreaks.
Those trends haven’t changed. Neither has the mix of emotions for family members of those who have died: Each death is a personal tragedy, but also a part of a global crisis that’s still far from over.
“There’s so many layers to it,” said Denise Cousino, one of Mary Pat Brown’s daughters. “It’s the loss of them. It’s them being alone and isolated. It’s not being able to gather like you normally would after someone passes away. You want to be around your siblings and your family members, and you can’t. You’ve got to be safe.”
The experience has compelled Cousino and her siblings to become advocates for caution. They sent the governor a letter about their mother, which Scott read during a press conference before Thanksgiving. “We figured if we could reach one family to maybe change their plans, that maybe we could save some lives,” she said.
Another layer of grief, she said, is that her mother’s death was preventable. “My mom wasn’t out going anywhere or doing anything,” she said. “It was brought to her. Covid found her.”
If you’ve lost a loved one to the virus and would like to share a remembrance, please contact us. Interviews with family members have been edited and condensed.
Families remember
Lorene Shepard, 86, put faith and family first
Born in Quincy, Ill., Lorene Shepard came to New England in 1954 to wait tables at the Hanover Inn in Hanover, N.H., with a group of friends. There, Lorene met a chef with the same name as her father and namesake, Loren, and started a relationship that would last for the rest of her life. Lorene broke off an engagement with her high school sweetheart, returning the ring by mail, and married Loren the following year. Dan Shepard is one of the three children they raised in South Burlington.
Dan Shepard: Their marriage was a beautiful, really strong marriage. Any time one of them would go into a hospital, they would be so worried about each other while they were gone.
One of the last times before Covid, I was taking my mom back from the hospital. They had been in assisted living for the last year and a half. So I was taking my mom home, and I was bringing her inside. My dad knew that she was going to be in the door anytime. He wanted to be there to meet her at the door. He’s in a walker, and she’s in a walker — they aren’t really fast at that time. And when their eyes locked in the hallway, and they finally saw each other — they’re probably about 100 feet from each other — you just see the pace of their walkers pick up, to get to each other so they could embrace.
It was important to them throughout their marriage to really have that care and love for each other. It really showed in their later years. It was wonderful to be there to witness that. It was special.
Tom Canavan, 94, devoted father, gardener, and lifelong Rutlander
Tom Canavan was born in West Rutland and died at Rutland Health and Rehab during the first major outbreak of the fall wave of Covid-19. At 94, Canavan had lived through the Great Depression and served in the Navy during World War II. His stint in Guam during the war was the only time he lived outside of Vermont. Debbie Holmes, Canavan’s daughter, said his experiences left her father quiet and introspective, but he was “perfectly content.”
Debbie Holmes: He grew up in a poor family during the Depression. He used to tell us that his family was so poor that they couldn’t even afford ice for the icebox, whereas other people could at least afford five cents for a big chunk of ice.
He worked at the Howe Scale Company for 35 years, in the foundry. The man never missed a day of work. He used to work up to three jobs just to support the family — there were four of us kids and my mom.
He would do whatever we wanted. He used to make a skating rink in the yard. He taught us how to ride bikes, he taught us to tie our shoes. I remember that distinctly: 3 years old, I remember him teaching me how to tie my little red sneakers. He used to fix our toys and help us with homework, all the things that fathers do. Good fathers, anyway.
Ralph Swett, 90, general store operator and local Abenaki leader
Ralph Swett established and ran the Evansville Trading Post, a general store in Brownington that’s now operated by his son Andy. Born in Orleans in 1930, Ralph worked as a farmer and logger before moving into retail. Andy said his dad was an entrepreneur from his youth.
Andy Swett: He had chickens. When he was 9 years old walking to school, he’d sell eggs. He was always into business, always bartering, buying and selling.
For 25 years he farmed — Dutch belt dairy cows. He got sick — farmer’s lung, or whatever they call it. Too much chaff and stuff in his lungs, and he couldn’t breathe good. So that’s why he had to get out.
He started buying and selling antiques in ‘74, but the store was like ‘86, ‘85. He was a wheeler dealer. We just did antiques and used furniture and junk for a while. Then you end up buying and selling more. He started the store, and I took it over from him. It was strict: work, work, work, pretty much. But it was good.
He was a community man. He was a lister for 30 years for the town of Brownington — selectman and lister, all that stuff. He was good to people. You know everybody and anybody. You know what’s going on in town before people even know what they’re doing.
Mary Pat Brown, 79, E.R. nurse and mother of six
Mary Pat Brown was a Vermonter by choice. In the 1970s, she and her husband moved their family of eight from Lynbrook, on Long Island, N.Y., to Bristol. Their youngest child was only two weeks old. “My mom loved four seasons,” her daughter Denise Cousino said, “so Vermont was the place that she wanted to be.”
Denise Cousino: Moving from Long Island to Vermont, there weren’t a lot of family here. A lot of the families here, they traveled to several of their relatives within a day. We didn’t. We stuck at home. There was always something going on with six kids and a dog and Mom and Dad.
My mom had graduated from nursing school before they were married. [It was] her desire to want to help people. And I think that was obviously a perfect way to be able to do that, to take care of people. She worked as an E.R. nurse at Porter Hospital in Middlebury. Sometimes we’d be able to go in and sit with her. She did a lot of the overnight shifts.
My dad took such wonderful care of my mom. They were married in ‘63 — I actually still have their marriage license. I’m not a practicing Catholic like my parents were. But I think that those vows that they said to each other, they kept. They were very loving to each other, they took care of each other. And they supported each other.
When they lived in the apartment together before he passed, my dad would walk in, and there was this table of pictures. He would just stop and do a real little reflection and say, “Your mom and I created all of this.” My dad was a photographer and took beautiful pictures of my mother, all through the years. Family to them was very important.
Read past remembrances: Thomas Christian • Naomi McCullough • Michael Rappold • David Reissig • Rama Rawal • Robert Kirkbride • Elizabeth LaBombard • Cleon & Leon Boyd • Bernie Juskiewicz
The descriptions at top were compiled by Mike Dougherty and Cate Chant, based on death certificates as well as obituaries and news articles from: St. Albans Messenger • Rutland Herald • Barre-Montpelier Times Argus • Barton Chronicle • Seven Days • Burlington Free Press • Valley Reporter • NECN • News & Citizen • Newport Daily Express • VTDigger • Minor Funeral Home • Shea Family Funeral Homes • A.W. Rich Funeral Home • Ready Funeral and Cremation Services • Goss Funeral Services • LaVigne Funeral Home • Corbin and Palmer Funeral Home • Elmwood-Meunier Funeral Home • Brown Mcclay Funeral Homes • Heald Funeral Home • Brady & Levesque Funeral Home • Atamaniuk Funeral Home • Fenton and Hennessey funeral home • Heald Funeral Home • Faith Funeral Home • Gifford Funeral Home.
