Remembering Vermonters lost to the coronavirus
VTDigger collected stories about the Vermonters’ lives that were lost in the first few weeks of the coronavirus outbreak and shared them here.
A linchpin of the Ludlow community who took detailed notes during Town Meeting just weeks before falling ill. An immigrant from rural India who worked to retain her culture while seeking a better life for her kids and grandkids. A high school basketball star who traveled the globe as a federal agent but stayed rooted in Proctor. These are just a few of the dozens of Vermonters lost in the first weeks of the coronavirus outbreak.
Those who die from Covid-19 typically take their last breaths with only health care providers by their side. Due to hospital restrictions, family members may experience their loved one’s final moments through a phone or video connection, in many cases calling from just miles down the road. Gathering for in-person memorial services, especially to honor those who were avid churchgoers, has become impossible for the time being.
But those obstacles haven’t stopped family members and friends from remembering and celebrating their most cherished moments with those who have died. We’ve collected these memories and shared them below.
Sandra Lee Wooster, 78, had ‘a big heart, always giving’
Sandra Lee Wooster came to Vermont late in life. Born with an intellectual disability, Wooster’s mother in Claremont, New Hampshire, helped care for her throughout her adult years. That role later fell to Sandra’s daughter, Carol. “There were two different…
Vermont family hit hardest by Covid heals slowly after losing twins
“It’s been a long time, yet I’m still working to get over it,” says a loved one of 64-year-old brothers Cleon and Leon Boyd, two of the first in the state to die when the virus struck a year ago.
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…
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…
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…
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…
Thomas Christian, 81, ‘always knew somebody’ in Orwell and beyond
Thomas Christian was born in Rutland in 1938. He lived in Orwell his entire life, but traveled often — first as a long distance truck driver, making deliveries across the country; and then as an active member of the Cairo…
Vermont family hardest hit by Covid-19 stays ‘Boyd strong’
‘It’s been heartbreaking,’ says a survivor of twin-brother virus casualties Cleon and Leon Boyd. ‘But it’s helping people understand what this really can do.’
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