A Life: Clydene and Roger Trachier ‘were a team’

HARTLAND — Whether devising or supporting large town projects or assisting individuals in need, Roger and Clydene Trachier, longtime community stalwarts, were always there to lend a hand.

Their son-in-law, Theodore Ambros, of Hartland, described the couple who were married for 68 years as “a force that you could not oppose.”

“When they had a good idea, it happened,” Ambros said. “Lots of Roger’s and Clydene’s schemes and plans that they did on a part of the town, you don’t see.”

One of these schemes or plans began in the late 1960s when the Trachiers were among residents pushing for the consolidation of Hartland’s three elementary schools to relieve overcrowding issues.

After the three schools closed and the new Hartland Elementary School was built, the Trachiers hatched one of their plans.

Each of the old schools had a bell that was going to be auctioned off. “My dad felt that those bells should stay in town, and so did my mom,” Andrea Ambros, the Trachiers’ daughter, said.

The pair ended up attending the auction, purchasing the bells and subsequently convincing the school administration at the time, as well as others, that they should remain part of the town’s history and be displayed at the elementary school.

Roger Trachier died at 88 on April 16 at his home on Lull Farm Lane after a bout with cancer, which was described in his obituary as “fast-growing” and “very rare.”

Clydene Trachier died just four weeks later on May 14, after a period of declining health. She was 92.

Roger Trachier, born to Florice and Earl LaMountain in May 1936, grew up in Woodstock and, for a short while, was known as Roger Earl LaMountain before his name was legally changed upon his mother’s marriage to Maurice Trachier.

Andrea Ambros said her father was shy growing up, but was industrious and an entrepreneur from the start, noting how he picked up golf balls from a nearby golf course.

“(He had) kind of a driven personality, to see the need, do the deed and get things done,” she said.

In his younger years, Roger’s passion was baseball. He played first base for teams in Woodstock and Hartland.

Clydene Trachier was born in February 1933 to Reba and Clyde Richardson and was raised in Hartland. As an only child, Clydene spent a lot of time with her extended family, and her passion was music.

“My mom just loved music,” Andrea Ambros said, noting that she took piano lessons at a young age but was otherwise self-taught. “Like her dad, you could just hum a tune, or she could hear a song, and then she could play it immediately,” she added.

Clydene played the piano through elementary school and picked up the drums in high school. Moreover, she was selected for the Vermont All-State and New England Musical Festival for four consecutive years. She also was a part of a female vocal quartet called the Windsorettes — a spin on the Chordettes, a popular female vocal quartet in the 1950s.

Clydene graduated from Windsor High School in 1951, while her husband graduated from Woodstock High School in 1954.

Just a few years out of high school, they were married in October 1956.

The pair met on a double date that was put together by Roger’s cousin, Marilyn Best.

“It was a fairly short relationship before getting married,” said Andrea Ambros. “They just knew this was a good thing and that they were a good match.”

Throughout their lives, the couple’s community work was extensive, whether it involved helping to build the North Hartland Fire Station or securing spare water tanks from Quechee Lakes for fire protection at Hartland Elementary School, among other things.

“They were a team,” said Theodore Ambros. “Roger had the mechanical aptitude and the organizational skills to get people to nod their heads in the right direction, but Clydene was the financial wizard — if you don’t have the funds, you don’t have a future.”

The Trachiers were not just involved in large community projects. They were generous; loaning money to residents who were strapped for cash. Their son-in-law recalled a time when he and Roger were driving together and helped someone whose car had gone off the side of the road. Their daughter detailed how the family cared for a young orphan raccoon, which they named Cricket.

Toni Vendetti, who moved to Hartland in 1970, eventually joined a group that put together the town’s variety shows, which Clydene was also a part of. That group became Hartland Community Arts.

Vendetti, who was an alto in the chorus for the shows, said Clydene “would spend hours at the piano with me going over and over the music with me so she was sure I knew exactly my part.”

“I thought that was extraordinary to spend that amount of time with someone who wasn’t particularly good, but she was willing to spend that time with me,” she added.

The Trachiers also looked out for their own. They were big supporters of Hartland Winter Trails, a nonprofit that maintains the town’s outdoor recreational trail system for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing during snowy months.

Andrea Ambros and her brother, Gary Trachier, of Hartland, are still involved in the organization that celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this year.

“Right from the very beginning of Hartland Winter Trails, they were very supportive and did many things to make that all possible,” said the couple’s son, Gary Trachier.

“My parents, always, and still to this day, for 50 years, have housed all of our equipment,” said their daughter.

Over the years, the couple was involved in several side or self-owned businesses together. The most comprehensive and extensive of those businesses was Roger Trachier Builders, which operated for around 20 years until the early 2000s. Clydene kept the company’s books.

“I was pretty impressed with the way they worked as a team and learned a lot about their work ethos and what was considered acceptable,” said their son.

Despite all of their community involvement and things the Trachiers did for others, they were never ones to seek credit. “They didn’t talk about it really much at the dinner table; it wasn’t as if it was some sort of a personal goal,” said their daughter. “It was never glorified and rarely really talked about.”

“Both of them were very humble people and frequently would downplay the importance of their contributions,” their son added.

Her parents complemented each other, Andrea Ambros said. “They both had an impressive work ethic and a really impressive sense of community,” she said.

Gary Trachier echoed the point that both of his parents were hard workers, and he believed it stemmed from their respective upbringings.

“For the two of them, it seemed like in many ways they were like two horses or oxen in a harness together when it was a common project; they really worked together very closely,” he said. “Work ethic, the drive, the feeling of needing to provide adequately for a young family, those were strong themes.”

When the Trachiers had some time to relax, they would travel for family vacations.

They liked to camp in local state parks, attend state fairs, visit state historical sites, and spend time at the family’s camp on Halls Lake in West Newbury, Vt.

A July 12 celebration of life for the couple took place at Damon Hall in Hartland, and in the end, the Trachiers received their due for what they had done for the town.

“People got to hear all the appreciation for what they had been and what they had done through their lives,” their son said. “It was rewarding in some way that they could get credit, and I wish that they had been alive to witness all this.”

Michael Coughlin Jr. can be reached at mcoughlin@vnews.com