Obituaries
Alma Ringer
VERGENNES — Alma A Ringer, 93, died Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009, at Vergennes Residential Care.
A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated on Saturday, Dec. 12, at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Vergennes, with interment in Prospect Cemetery in Vergennes.
Memorial contributions may be made to Champlain Valley Elderly Services, 112 Exchange St., Middlebury, VT 05753, or Vergennes Residential Care, 34 North St., Vergennes, VT 05491.
She was born May 30, 1916, in East Orange, N.J., the daughter of Henry and Maude (Bedell) Altengarten.
Clifford Francis
NORTH FERRISBURGH — Clifford Frank Francis, 89, died Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009, at Helen Porter Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Middlebury with his son by his side.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 14, at the North Ferrisburgh United Methodist Church. Burial will be in the spring. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Shelburne Museum, Attn: Linda Pervier, PO Box 10, Shelburne, VT 05482.
He was born Dec. 2, 1920, in New Haven, the son of Salomond and Mary Francis.
Gertrude Bellerose
LAKE BOMOSEEN — Gertrude Seeley Bellerose, wife of the late Dr. Alberic H. Bellerose of Rutland, died on Nov. 21, 2009, at her home on Lake Bomoseen.
A private memorial service will be held at the convenience of the family.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Rutland Area Visiting Nurse & Hospice at 7 Albert Cree Drive, Rutland, VT 05701.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Ducharme Funeral Home Inc. of Castleton, www.ducharmefuneralhome.com.
Iola Torrey
SHOREHAM — Iola A. “Ma” Torrey, 87, of Shoreham died Saturday evening, Dec. 5, 2009, at Porter Medical Center in Middlebury.
Funeral services were held at Ma’s Last Chance Camp on Torrey Lane in Shoreham on Tuesday Dec. 8, 2009, with the Rev. Ralph Stone officiating. Burial followed in Lake View Cemetery in Shoreham.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Shoreham First Response, PO Box 202, Shoreham, VT 05770, the Bridport First Response, PO Box 82, Bridport, VT 05734, or Addison County Home Health & Hospice, PO Box 754, Middlebury, VT 05753.
Thomas Sands
FLORIDA — Thomas Francis Sands, 71, formerly of Weybridge and Cornwall, Vt., died peacefully on Nov. 28, 2009.
Memorial donations may be made to Cornerstone Hospice Foundation, Attn: Lori Lau, 2445 Lane Park Road, Tavares, FL 32778.
He was born on April 19, 1938, in Brooklyn, N.Y., the son of the late Francis Nicholas Sands and the late Margaret Elizabeth (Kane) Hawkins.
Kevin Heffernan
ESSEX JUNCTION — Kevin C. Heffernan, 78, a longtime resident of Essex Junction and a one-time Bristol resident, died Monday, Nov. 16, 2009, at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington following a short illness.
Funeral services were held at the LaVigne Funeral Home in Winooski on Nov. 21. Interment followed at Fort Ethan Allen Cemetery in Colchester with full military honors. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Legion, Post 91, 3650 Roosevelt Highway, Colchester, VT 05446.
He was born in Starksboro on Oct. 12, 1931, the son of Kevin P. and Zita (LaFayette) Heffernan.
Ellen Burgess
BRANDON — Ellen Fales Burgess, 86, died Oct. 20, 2009, at Keswick Multi-Care Center in Baltimore, Md.
The funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009, at 10:30 a.m., at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Brandon. The Rev. Margaret Fletcher, rector, will be the celebrant. The graveside committal service and burial will follow, in the family lot at Pine Hill Cemetery in Brandon.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Vermont Chapter, 172 North Main St., Barre, VT 05641.
Dudley Pearsall Berry
BRANDON — Dudley Pearsall Berry, 76, died Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009, at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
A funeral service will be held on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 10 a.m. at the Brandon Congregational Church, the Rev. Richard White, pastor, officiating. A graveside committal service and burial, with military honors, will follow in the family lot at Pine Hill Cemetery.
Following the ceremony the family will receive friends at Brandon American Legion Post No. 55, for a time of fellowship and remembrance.
Jean Marie Rivers
BRANDON — Jean Marie Rivers, 52, died Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009, at her home in Brandon.
She was born in Middlebury on Feb. 5, 1957. She was the daughter of John and Mary (McCoy) Wetmore. She grew up in Brandon and graduated from Otter Valley Union High School, class of 1975.
She had been employed by Simmons Precision in Vergennes as an assembly inspector. She later worked as a waitress at her mother’s restaurant, Yankee Kitchen.
On Oct. 16, 1982, she married Brian Rivers in Brandon.
She assisted her husband on the family farm and more recently worked for At Home Senior Care.
Sandra Vivian
MIDDLEBURY — After a courageous battle with ovarian cancer, fought with grit and great dignity, Sandra Vivian died at her home in Middlebury Nov. 30, 2009.
A faithful and lifelong Catholic, Sandy will be buried out of St. Peter’s Church, Torrington, Conn. LaPorta-Cook Funeral Home, Torrington, is in charge of arrangements.
Calling hours will be Saturday, Dec. 5, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., with a funeral Mass at 11 am. A memorial service will be held on Dec. 13, at 3 p.m. at St. Stephen’s Church in Middlebury.
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Submitting an obituary
The Addison Independent publishes paid and free obituaries. Paid obituaries run just as submitted with a charge of $9.00 per column inch, and the editor shapes free obituaries to conform to our editorial style. We run photos of the person if they are submitted in a relatively high-quality format.
Generally, obituaries follow this form:
TOWN - Name, age, of town, died on date, of cause of death. He/She was born on date in town, the son/daughter of father's name and mother's name, including maiden name in parentheses.
Then include a paragraph or two about where the person went to school and what they did for work; where they lived, who they married and when.
Add a sentence or two about what made the person special to family and friends, including hobbies, avocations or other telling details about their life.
He/She is survived by spouse's name; children named individually (and their spouses and towns of residence, if appropriate); siblings named individually; number of grandchildren, parents or other immediate family members.
He/She was predeceased by names of immediate family members.
A memorial service will be held (fill in details of date, time, and place, plus officiate if applicable) with interment at (place). Memorial contributions may be made to (name and complete address, if applicable).
Obituaries can be e-mailed to: news@addisonindependent.com
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