Newton "Newt" Garland dies at age 99

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Newt donated land on Shepardson Hollow to the Town of Fairfax for recreation.

Newton C. “Newt” Garland, 99, an avid outdoorsman, has climbed his final mountain. He died on Thursday, at the Residence at Quarry Hill in South Burlington, after a short illness.

He was born in 1924 in Lowell, Mass. His parents owned a large dairy farm in Pelham, N.H., and he and his two brothers and sister were expected to help out. His lifelong attachment to the land and his ability to fix things served him well.

He attended Cornell University, joined the Navy and graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At RPI he was a lacrosse standout and in his senior year was selected as a midfielder on the North Squad in the 1946 annual North/South All Star Game. Newt received a master’s in mechanical engineering from MIT, with specialized postgraduate work in optics.

He spent most of his career as an engineer at General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y.; Pittsfield, Mass.; and Burlington, Vt. He worked on missile guidance systems and held several patents for his work on the Vulcan gun.

Newt raised two sons, and, in 1966, he and their late mother, Margaret “Peg” Garland, bought land in Fairfax, Vt. In 1971, he designed and built an A-frame house on the land. He fabricated the rafters at his house in Burlington and enlisted his sons, friends and neighbors to erect the cabin.

While well into his eighties, he spent many happy hours on the land — clearing brush, cutting firewood and building trails — which he wanted the public to enjoy. He hiked, skied, bicycled and kayaked. As a volunteer, he worked on many trail-improvement projects in Vermont, New Mexico, Alaska and Hawaii.

After retiring from GE, Newt bought a house in Albuquerque and split his time between Vermont and New Mexico. A few years ago, tiring of his twice-yearly drives between the two states, he returned full-time to Vermont. He granted a conservation easement on most of his Fairfax property to the Vermont Land Trust to protect it and ensure public access, and in 2023 donated the 63 acres to the town.

He is survived by his longtime companion, Nancy Smith, of South Burlington; his sons Russell and his wife, Gayle, of Santa Fe, N.M., and James and his wife, Sooyeon, of Danbury, Conn.; and three grandchildren, Stacy, Jason and Arin.

Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in his memory to the Green Mountain Club or your favorite charity.