WEST FAIRLEE, VT — Barbara R. Slack, 100 , of West Fairlee, Vermont, died on 14 November 2018 at Grafton County Nursing Home.
She was born in Upton, Massachusetts, on March 29, 1918, the daughter of Henry Everett Green and Bertha (Houghton) Green. She was a graduate of Upton High School and of Becker College in 1937 in the secretarial and business program. In early years she was employed at the Hat Factory in Uxbridge, Mass., and later as a bookkeeper at Upton Fuel and Construction Company.
On July 15, 1949, she was married to Alfred B. Slack and they made their first home in Worcester, Mass. Following the June 9, 1953, tornado that devastated the central area of the state and destroyed their home, they relocated to Westborough, Mass. In 1973, following Mr. Slack’s retirement, they moved to their West Fairlee home.
Mrs. Slack, known as ‘Aunt B’ to most in her family, was an avid gardener, maintaining a large vegetable garden well into her mid-90s. She was a keen observer of nature and had an encyclopedic knowledge of all things outdoors. No tree, shrub or flower went unnamed, no bird unrecognized by sight or sound, no mammal unfamiliar.
She was the holder of the West Fairlee cane for many years, symbolizing the town’s oldest resident. For decades she worked the polls at local elections, volunteered at countless church and community suppers and was an avid follower, as was her husband, of all Thetford Academy Panthers’ sports programs. Her interest and support also extended for over 60 years to Camp Billings on Lake Fairlee where she much enjoyed and participated in their summer camping events.
Born the year when her favorite team, the Boston Red Sox, won a major league pennant, she was a lifelong supporter. Her efforts were finally rewarded at age 86 when the team reclaimed the championship. Two repeats since then were simply icing on the cake.
Many area residents, especially her Middlebrooks Road neighbors, remember her daily walks and her large woodpiles needed for her living room wood stove, her favored source of heat. She was a voracious reader of books and also newspapers which allowed her to never miss any detail of local, national and world happenings. Her Lake Fairlee cottage, ‘WEOWNIT’, in the family since 1905, and virtually unchanged in over a century, was an important gathering place for family and friends. She was a longtime member of Post Mills Congregational Church, the West Fairlee Historical Society, and the Lake Fairlee Association.
Mrs. Slack was predeceased by her husband in 2002 and by her older brother John in 2005. Many nieces and a nephew and their families across the U.S. and in Ontario, Canada survive. The Cremation Society of New Hampshire is in charge of arrangements. A committal service will be held in the Post Mills Cemetery at a future date.
The family extends many thanks to her Middlebrook Road neighbors for their friendship. kindness and assistance provided ‘Aunt B’ over the years. The family also thanks the Grafton County Nursing Home for their wonderful case and kindnesses.