David Ashton Obituary

David "Gordon" Ashton Jr.

1928 - 2013 DORSET, VT David "Gordon" Ashton, 84, died peacefully on Thursday, January 31, 2013 at Equinox Terrace in Manchester, VT.

Born in Cambridge, NY on August 13, 1928, he was the son of David Gordon and Eleanor Stuckslager Ashton of New York City and Cambridge. He attended Allen Stevenson elementary school in New York City and Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. He graduated from Princeton University in 1950 and then received an MBA from Columbia University Business School, graduating in 1958.

He served in the Navy and then moved to New York City to begin a career in investment banking at Chase Manhattan Bank. There he married Dorothy M. Wilson. In New York City, they were members of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church and Blue Hill Troupe.

In 1971, he and Dotty and their two children moved to the family farm on Ash Grove Road in Cambridge. He held the position of Senior Vice President for Investments at Farm Family Insurance Company in Albany and subsequently Chief Investment Officer and Treasurer of the Picotte Companies. Civic and community minded, he served on a variety of local and regional boards including the Mary McClellan Hospital, Bennington Museum, United Presbyterian Church, Eastern Regional Board of Glens Falls National Bank and Hubbard Hall (of which he was a founding board member).

In the early '90s Gordon and Dotty moved to Dorset, VT. In retirement, he served on various boards including Merck Forest, Dorset Nursing Association and The Dorset Theatre Festival.

Above all, Gordon loved spending time with his growing family and looking after the old family farm. He enjoyed tennis, golf and paddle tennis. He was also a visual and performing arts enthusiast.

Gordon and Dotty celebrated their 50th anniversary this past fall. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his two children, Sarah Ashton and David Ashton and their spouses John Mooney and Kathy Moser, as well as six granddaughters: Emily, Julia and Natalie Ashton and Olivia, Helen and Fiona Mooney, as well as a host of nieces and nephews. They will miss his warmth, strength, quick wit, boisterous laugh and cheer.

FUNERAL NOTICE: A service celebrating his life will be held at the First Congregational Church in Manchester, VT on Saturday, February 9th at 10am. A reception will follow at the church. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in his memory to: Hubbard Hall Projects, Inc. (25 East Main Street, Cambridge NY 12816) or Merck Forest and Farmland Center, (P.O. Box 86 Rupert, VT 05768).

Published by Bennington Banner on Feb. 4, 2013.
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