Obituaries

Arthur Menut
B: 1941-10-24
D: 2024-03-13
View Details
Menut, Arthur
Vincent Hampson
B: 1952-11-17
D: 2024-03-13
View Details
Hampson, Vincent
Valerie Dolan
B: 1940-08-24
D: 2024-03-10
View Details
Dolan, Valerie
George Singer
B: 1927-06-23
D: 2024-03-09
View Details
Singer, George
Michele Murphy
B: 1948-02-15
D: 2024-03-07
View Details
Murphy, Michele
Judy Allard
B: 1955-01-02
D: 2024-03-05
View Details
Allard, Judy
Dean VanOrnum
B: 1955-11-08
D: 2024-03-04
View Details
VanOrnum, Dean
James Rogers
B: 1990-01-17
D: 2024-03-03
View Details
Rogers, James
Maurice Lafleur
B: 1932-12-13
D: 2024-02-28
View Details
Lafleur, Maurice
Terrence O'Neill
B: 1945-09-02
D: 2024-02-28
View Details
O'Neill, Terrence
Linda Bushey
B: 1962-02-25
D: 2024-02-27
View Details
Bushey, Linda
Craig Johnston
B: 1958-07-17
D: 2024-02-26
View Details
Johnston, Craig
Ruth Marsh
B: 1930-01-23
D: 2024-02-25
View Details
Marsh, Ruth
Francis Gabel
B: 1948-10-20
D: 2024-02-25
View Details
Gabel, Francis
Jeanette Chapman
B: 1942-10-30
D: 2024-02-25
View Details
Chapman, Jeanette
Stanley Slonka
B: 1948-06-11
D: 2024-02-24
View Details
Slonka, Stanley
Douglas Corse
B: 1960-07-30
D: 2024-02-19
View Details
Corse, Douglas
Shirley Jacques
B: 1936-09-24
D: 2024-02-19
View Details
Jacques, Shirley
Joyce Bordo
B: 1938-06-28
D: 2024-02-18
View Details
Bordo, Joyce
Joyce Jacobs
B: 1932-10-07
D: 2024-02-18
View Details
Jacobs, Joyce
Charles Dow
B: 1951-10-19
D: 2024-02-17
View Details
Dow, Charles

Search

Use the form above to find your loved one. You can search using the name of your loved one, or any family name for current or past services entrusted to our firm.

Click here to view all obituaries
Search Obituaries
1176 Main Street
Fairfax, VT 05454
Phone: 802-849-6261
Fax: 802-849-6262

Immediate Need

If you have immediate need of our services, we're available for you 24 hours a day.

Pre-Arrangement

A gift to your family, sparing them hard decisions at an emotional time.

Obituaries & Tributes

It is not always possible to pay respects in person, so we hope that this small token will help.

Order Flowers

Offer a gift of comfort and beauty to a family suffering from loss.

Grieving with Purpose

No one is prepared for grief. The rush of feelings, the thoughts, anxieties, and heartache can take us by surprise and drive us to our knees. Yet, when we choose to harness that power for self-growth, amazing things can happen. Good can come from pain.

Sigmund Freud first brought up the concept of grief work in 1917, and today the idea that bereavement is purpose-driven continues.

Dr. James Worden chose to see the work of bereavement as task-oriented:

  1. To accept the reality of the loss
  2. To process the pain of grief
  3. To adjust to a world without the deceased
  4. To find an enduring connection with the deceased in the midst of embarking on a new life

Your current job is to focus your attention on achieving each of those goals. It will not occur in any logical order; each of us is different and the path we walk in the bereavement journey is not a straight one.

Dealing with grief is hard work. It takes both courage and hard work to successfully adapt to the loss of a significant person in your life.

Six Signposts Along Your Journey

Dr. Stephen Joseph identifies what he calls six signposts to facilitate posttraumatic growth. He reminds readers too that "posttraumatic growth does not imply the absence of emotional distress and difficulties in living. It does imply that it is possible through the struggle to come out on the other side, stronger and more philosophical about life."

Before identifying these six signposts, Dr. Joseph reminds his readers of three very important things:

  • You are not on your own
  • Trauma is a normal and natural process
  • Growth is a journey

He also provides a fundamental rule: don't do anything you might not be able to handle now. "If you experience intense emotions, become physically upset, or begin to panic...stop." He gently reminds readers that "having a sense of personal control over your recovery is important. There might be some things you do not feel ready to handle now, but in time, as you discover new strength and develop new coping skills, this will likely change."

Sign Post #1: Taking Stock
Are you physically well? Are you getting enough sleep and eating the right foods for optimum health? Have you received the kind of medical, legal, or psychological help you need? What is your current condition: physically, spiritually, and emotionally?

Sign Post #2: Harvesting Hope
People traumatized by loss often feel hopeless. It's hard to get up in the mourning and thinking about the future sparks pessimism and negativity. Find inspiration in the stories of personal growth written by others; set goals and practice hope as you set out to achieve them.

Sign Post #3: Re-Authoring
Learn to tell your story differently. Take the victim mentality out of the story of loss you tell yourself and others and replace it with the word survivor to return to a sense of control over your life.

Sign Post #4: Identifying Change
Keeping a daily diary can help you to see the small changes within more easily. You can also track those moments when you feel at your best and identify the conditions that brought them about. Identify and nurture the positive changes in your life throughout your bereavement journey.

Sign Post #5: Valuing Change
Review these changes, identifying the ones that you'd like to continue to nurture. Personal transformation requires it. Growth is encouraged when we take time to think about what we have gained from loved ones and when we find a way to use what we have learned to give to others.

Sign Post #6: Expressing Change in Action
Express your growth in new behaviors or, more simply, put your growth into action. When you think in terms of concrete actions, it helps make the growth experienced within your bereavement real to you.

"By focusing on these six signposts," writes Dr. Joseph, "you will find that your posttraumatic growth is beginning to take root."

Sources: 
Freud, Sigmund. On the History of the Psycho-Analytic Movement Papers on Metaphyschology and Other Works.
Worden, James. Grief Counseling & Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner

Fleming, Stephen. The Changing Face of Grief: From 'Going On to 'On-Going''
Joseph, Stephen. What Doesn't Kill Us: the New Psychology of Posttraumatic Growth