Woodstock, Vt. —
She was born in N.J. on May 13, 1927, only child of Victor Cantlupe and Helen (Schmidt) Cantlupe. She grew up in suburban Newark, N.J., attended secretarial school, and worked in Manhattan as a young woman.
The summer of 1952 she went on a two-week vacation to northern Maine and New Brunswick with a friend, and met Maurice (Buster) Durgin. Sparks flew, and after two weeks, he proposed – and she said yes! Six months later she traded in city life for the woods of Forest City, Maine, where she learned to cook on a wood range, pump water by hand and live without electricity. Love conquered all and soon the children followed – three while they lived there, and three more who were born after they moved to Calais, Maine, where they remained until 1968.
A move to Fairlee that summer, and then 18 years later, to Hanover, brought them to the Upper Valley, where Rosemary was constantly busy with the large family and, eventually, grandchildren, too.
Always a devout Catholic, she was active in church life and befriended many Catholic students and staff at Aquinas House. She was a Eucharistic Minister with the Chaplaincy at DHMC. An excellent cook who loved to feed people, Rosemary brought cookies and cakes with her when she volunteered, and to people she met and liked in her daily life. Family gatherings were often held at the Durgin home where a huge simmering pot of homemade meatballs and several lbs. of spaghetti were often consumed. She had a notorious “sweet tooth” and bought bags of chocolates that she “hid” in the front hall closet something that the grandchildren figured out quickly as they grew.
Openly generous by nature, she and Buster offered home-cooked meals and friendship to many Dartmouth College students over the years – some of whom were from other countries, and some who were just too far from their own hometowns to get back for holidays. Once she knew you, you were always considered a part of her family.
A few years after Buster passed away, Rosemary moved to Fla. to live with daughter, Mary, and family for five years, then returned to Vt. in 2012 to live at Woodstock Terrace. Though her memory was not always intact, her sense of humor and grace never abandoned her, and she was grateful and gracious til the end.
Rosemary was predeceased by her husband in 2004, her son Thomas Durgin, grandson AJ Dupont, and sons-in-law James Dupont and Bryce Morrill.
She is survived by and will be missed greatly by daughters Anne Dall (Tony) of Lyme, N.H., Mary Dupont of Port Orange, Fla., and Helen Durgin of Plains, Mont., sons Peter (Claire) Durgin of Chester, Vt., and John (Christy) Durgin of Fairlee, grandsons Barrett Morrill of San Francisco, Calif., Michael Durgin of Burlington, Vt., Austin Durgin of Fairlee, Nick Kapusta of Lebanon, N.H. and Anthony Kapusta of Anchorage, Alaska, granddaughters Lisa Morrill Carvey (Sam) of Langley, Wash. and Rachel Durgin (Alex) of Denver, Colo., and great-grandson Elliot Dupont of Port Orange, Fla.
The family wishes to thank the wonderful and caring staff of Woodstock Terrace for their loving support of Mom in her final years.
A Mass, burial, and celebration of Rosemary’s life will be scheduled for some time in September.
The Hale Funeral Home and Cremation care of Bradford, Vt. is in charge of arrangements.
To view an online guest book, go to www.halefuneralhomes.com.