MARIE M. FINDHOLT UNDERHILL — Marie Elaina Moroni Findholt, 65, passed away peacefully on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013, at home, after a six month struggle with Glioblastoma Multiforme, a form of brain cancer.
She was born on March 7, 1948, in New York, N.Y., the first child of Irene (O’Dea) Moroni and Carlo P. Moroni. She graduated in 1966 from Spring Valley, N.Y. High School and attended the State University of New York at Oneonta before transferring to the University of Vermont, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1973. In August of 1968, she married her high school sweetheart, Glen Findholt. Marie and Glen celebrated their 45th anniversary on Aug. 31, 2013.
After graduation from UVM, she began a teaching career, holding positions at Bellows Free Academy, Fairfax and at Mount Mansfield Union High School. Later she founded Country Home Interiors, performing interior design and renovation of resort properties for over 20 years. From 2004 to 2012, she and Glen owned and operated Whistling Man Schooner Co., which provided a traditional sailing experience aboard the classic sloop, “Friend Ship“, from a base at the Burlington Community Boathouse. In recent years, she had worked for H & R Block assisting clients with tax filings and serving as an IRS Enrolled Agent.
Marie was a giving person who cared dearly for her many friends and family members. She was not one to place her own needs ahead of those of others. She thoroughly enjoyed working with her hands and became proficient in a number of craft activities that included sewing, knitting, rug hooking, painting, basket making, wall stenciling, quilt making and gardening. Experimenting with new recipes in her kitchen was especially satisfying and one more thing at which she excelled. She loved travel and along with her husband, Glen, had explored the east coast in an RV from Cape Breton to the Gulf Coast. Trips to Europe for skiing and for simply enjoying the culture were high points for Marie as well as extended trips by boat along with dear friends Paige and Mike Caldwell of Cape Coral, Fla. She and Glen also took great pleasure in sailing their sloop, “Windspirit“, on Lake Champlain. She was extremely proud of her two sons, Erik and Colin.
She was a longstanding member of the Lake Champlain Yacht Club and had served recently as treasurer of the Deborah Rawson Memorial Library Board. She was also a member of the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild, the Friendship Sloop Society, and the Frozen Fins, a service organization built around the music of Jimmy Buffett. She had also served on the board of the Cambridge Regional Health Center and was a founding member of the Northern Vermont Chapter of C.H.A.D.D. (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder.) She is survived by her husband, Glen A. Findholt of Underhill; sons, Erik Todd Findholt and Colin Michael Findholt and Colin’s partner, Kristie McHugh of Hinesburg; her brother, Albert T. Moroni of New City, N.Y.; sister, Kathleen Moroni of Airmont, N.Y.; her mother-in-law, Marigrace Findholt of Chestertown, N.Y.; brother-in-law, Wayne E. Findholt and his fiance, Lori Strong of Sharon; sister-in-law, Linda S. Ackerman and husband, Ronald Ackerman of Howell, N.J.; nieces and nephews, Ryan Moroni of New City, N.Y., Nicholas Findholt of Enfield, N.H., Caitlin Johnson and husband, Brian of Milton, Mass., Meghan Teachout and husband, Cabot of Norwich, Alison Moroni of Boston, Mass., Marissa Findholt of Enfield, N.H., Dawn Ackerman McCaffery of Jackson, N.J., Wendy Sistarenik and her husband, Alex, of Nutley, N.J., and Leann Ackerman of California; and grand¬nieces and nephews, Elva T. Teachout of Norwich, Kailey and Kyle McCaffery of Jackson, N.J., and Anastasia Sistarenik of Nutley, N.J. She will also be dearly missed by her dog, Mia, who maintained a vigil at her bedside for the past several months.
In addition to her parents, Marie was predeceased by her father-in-law, Elwood R. Findholt.
There will be no visiting hours. A celebration of Marie’s life will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013, at the Barn at Boyden Farm in Cambridge. We hope all whose lives intersected with Marie’s will join us for this tribute. The family is extremely grateful for the tremendous support of the Visiting Nurse Association Hospice program as well as that of Drs. Julie Olin and Jeannemarie Prunty. Arrangements are in the care of the Cremation Society of Chittenden County, a division of the Ready Family. To send online condolences to the family please visit
http://www.cremationsocietycc.com/.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Marie’s name may be made to the Deborah Rawson Memorial Library, 8 River Rd., Jericho, VT 05465; or to the Visiting Nurse Association Hospice Program, 1110 Prim Rd., Colchester, VT 05446.
