Guen Gifford, 1972-2009

Burlington resident Guenever Gifford, 37, died in a paragliding accident in California last Sunday, November 1. Like everyone who knew her, I was shocked and saddened to hear it.

Guen was a staff attorney at Law Line of Vermont. She was a dedicated and outspoken community activist, and an athlete. She was an acquaintance of mine, but I didn't feel I knew her well enough to memorialize her here, so I'm grateful to Jen Matthews for sending her thoughtful remembrance, below.

Jen has been a community activist friend and fan of Guen since their early '20s. She's now living in Northern California. She invites others to share their memories of Guen in the comments attached to this post.

Jen would like to add that a memorial service will take place in Burlington this Saturday, November 14, at 2 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Society at the top of Church Street. All are invited to attend to celebrate Guen's life, and mourn the loss of her presence on this planet. If you are so inclined, please make donations to the Peace and Justice Center (802-863-2345) and/or to The Caroline Fund for Women in Crisis (802-862-9616) in lieu of flowers.

From Jen:

Charlie's With the Angels

Vermont lost one of its most accomplished and compelling characters when Charlie Houston, 96, died on Sunday at his Ledge Road home in Burlington. A pioneer in Himalayan mountaineering, high-altitude medicine and international relations — he directed the Peace Corps in India — he was fully engaged in life until he left it. As recently as 2007, he was talking up universal health care on a Church Street soapbox.

I profiled him in a story for Seven Days about elder activists, and asked him to share a memorable fitness moment for our Health and Fitness issue in 2003.

I remember the first time he called, to invite me to lunch at his place. I arrived to find a charming old man, who was virtually blind, padding about a house filled with evidence of his adventures. With a little prompting, Houston would recount the stories himself: his near-death experience on K-2; the lab in which he experimented with human fitness at high altitudes; his efforts to launch a medical Peace Corps; his friendship with Phish keyboard player Page McConnell.

Houston never lost interest in others. At one point, he developed such a fan club of middle-aged women that it was dubbed “Charlie Angels.” Charlie’s with the real angels now.

Photo by Matthew Thorsen.

A Friend of Joe's: Larry McCrorey, 1927-2009

The local jazz community is saddened this week by the passing of saxophonist Larry McCrorey, who died at his Grand Isle home on Saturday. McCrorey was 82.

McCrorey, a physiology professor at UVM from 1966 to 1993 and ardent social activist, was a pillar of the Burlington jazz scene. Most recently, he was a fixture at Halvorson's "Friends of Joe" series, the weekly tribute to late, great Burlington sax man, Big Joe Burrell. 

In celebration of his life, Seven Days asked members of the local jazz community to share their remembrances of Larry McCrorey. This page will be updated as more submissions come in. Feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments section below.
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I first met Larry in 1975 or so. I had moved to VT from Chicago several years earlier, where I had played with many players with Larry's skills and background. But I was amazed and delighted to find someone like that here!

Larry was one of the most multi-dimensional people I've ever met. Furthermore, he seemed to pull off each of his multiple dimensions with complete skill and aplomb, as if that was all he did. If you met him on the bandstand (as I did) you'd never guess that he was also a Dean at UVM … and, I imagine, his colleagues at UVM must have felt the converse as well!

We played jazz together many times over the years. In fact, it was on one of Larry's gigs with the band "Just Jazz" at a now-defunct club called "Hawk's Point" that I met Big Joe Burrell, and invited him to come to sit in with our still-gelling Unknown Blues Band at Hunt's … but that's another story.

Because of our similar musical backgrounds, I immediately felt a bond with Larry. And the bond continued to grow as I got to know him better. I really loved him, and will miss his vitality and enthusiasm enormously.

Till we meet again, my friend!

Paul Asbell
Guitarist (Kilimanjaro, Unknown Blues Band)

Marion Leonard, 1909-2009

Living 100 years is in itself an accomplishment. But living every minute of 100 years with vigor, passion, intelligence and dedication to making the world a better place is an accomplishment of a higher order. Marion Leonard's life, which ended this morning in Randolph's Gifford Hospital, was one of the latter type. She was, and remains, an inspiration.

Marion's friend Cindy Kilgore was in touch with me over the past few days to let us know Marion was in the hospital and gradually transitioning to her next journey. "Please keep that positive energy out there," she wrote three days ago, "because when she decides to fly, stardust will flitter in the air!

Though I never had the pleasure to meet her personally, I feel as if I got to know her a bit. In part that's because of her prolific letters to the editor — generally on environmental and political issues. It's also through the article former Seven Days reporter Mike Ives wrote about her last May. That was part of a piece called "Aging Audaciously," in which we profiled uniquely admirable, activist seniors in Vermont. Marion, I believe, was the oldest of that bunch, and quite likely the sassiest. After the article came out, she and Mike stayed in touch. Then a recent Middlebury College grad, Mike quickly grew fond of Marion and told us what an honor it was to have met her.

Today, Marion's son Chris sent a copy of her obituary. Borrowing from it, I'll share a few highlights of her life.

Peter Freyne, 1949-2009

Peter Freyne never missed a deadline in the 13 years he worked for Seven Days. He delivered his political column, "Inside Track," every Tuesday by 4 p.m. and was never subtle about it. Shortly after emailing his article, Freyne would show up at the office to answer questions, argue, check last-minute facts and, depending on his mood, terrorize our staff. His column was the last thing we squeezed into the paper before sending it to press.

So it’s ironic — not to mention premature and terribly sad — that Peter Freyne left this Earth early on a Wednesday. After battling cancer, seizures and a strep infection that spread to his brain, he died peacefully at Fletcher Allen Health Care at 12:26 a.m. today — six hours after our weekly deadline. Did he have a hand in the timing of his final departure, knowing the news would break just after the paper went to bed? We wouldn’t put it past him to go out with a poke.

Freyne, 59, came out of the bar-stool school of journalism, along with his hero, Chicago newspaperman Mike Royko. He never went to school to learn to be a political columnist, but brought his considerable and diverse life experiences to a fun and informative “Inside Track” that originated in the Vanguard Press, Burlington’s original alt weekly, in the late ’80s. Freyne was the rare reporter who could skewer a politician in print and have a drink with him two days later — until he gave up drinking. Many of his “victims” became his sources — and in some cases, friends.

Vermont journalism has been a lot less lively since he retired last June. Here's a video that Eva Sollberger made of Freyne right after that, when Seven Days readers once again named him the state's "Best Print Journalist" in our annual Daysies survey.

His passing marks the end of an era. He may have planned that, too.

Please direct media inquiries to Seven Days Co-editor Pamela Polston, 864-5684, pamela@sevendaysvt.com.

Click here for downloadable press images of Peter.

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UPDATE: We'll post information about a memorial service here and in the newspaper next week. Thanks for all of your messages.