HOWARD BURTON GAREY

HOWARD BURTON GAREY - BURLINGTON - On Sept. 27, 2014, Howard Garey, 97, of Burlington, passed from this world peacefully and surrounded by dear friends who loved and respected him deeply. All of us who have gotten to know Howard during the 18 years he lived in Vermont are filled with gratitude for the experience of having had such a gentle, kind and intelligent soul in our midst. Howard was born in Columbus, Ohio, on Aug. 29, 1917, the son of Albert A. Garewitz (Garey) from what is now Belarus and Yetta Wolovitz from what is now the Ukraine, and moved to Los Angeles as a child. Howard was predeceased by three older brothers, Norman, Daniel and Bernard Garey. On July 14, 1940, Howard married the love of his life, Dorothy "Minnie" Ginsburg. Sadly, Minnie died on July 30, 2005. Howard jokingly referred to himself as a highly educated high school dropout. Indeed, he was, having earned Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in French from UCLA, and a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Yale. He then went on to have a distinguished career as a Professor of French and Romance Linguistics at Yale from 1947 to 1987, with numerous publications during and after his academic career, including "The Mellon Chansonnier" in 1991. During World War II, Howard's linguistic skills were put to use in the service of our country as a decoder and translator for the US Army Office of Strategic Services. In 1953, Howard and Minnie spent a year in France, where Howard studied at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes at the Sorbonne in Paris. In addition to French, Howard spoke Hebrew, Yiddish, Spanish, Latin and Farsi fluently and could converse in several other languages. Howard and Minnie resided in North Haven, Conn., until their move to Burlington in the spring of 1999. Howard is survived by his cherished daughter, Ellen; his much beloved grandchildren, Olivia Hope Vande Griek, Benjamin Jacob Vande Griek, and Scerra Hassuk; and his special friend and surrogate son, Bijan Samimi. Despite Minnie's passage, Howard continued to live an active, vibrant life and to pursue his eclectic interests. A member of the Baha'i Faith Community, Howard was deeply loved and respected by the members of that community, his neighbors and friends of all ages. We all marveled at the breadth and depth of his knowledge and wisdom, keen memory, resilience and sharp sense of humor, all of which he retained to the day of his passing. Howard's funeral will take place at Boucher and Pritchard Funeral Home, 85 N. Winooski Ave., on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014. Visiting hours will begin at Noon, with the service at 1 p.m., and burial to follow in Lakeview Cemetery.