Edward E. Buttolph

LEICESTER - Edward Edwy Buttolph, WWII veteran, forester and beloved father, grandpa and friend, passed away peacefully on May 16, 2018, at the age of 99.
He was born Aug. 5, 1918, in Middlebury,Vermont, the fourth of five children born to Mabel Martin Buttolph and John Lucius Buttolph. He grew up during the Depression. When he wasn't working on the family farm in Shoreham, Vermont, he hunted and ran a long trapline on skis.
He attended Shoreham public school through eighth grade. Because there was no local high school, he joined his older brothers and enrolled in Brigham Academy in Bakersfield, Vermont. Ed lived with various families; to offset his room and board, he did chores often getting up to milk cows before school. He played soccer and football and graduated in 1937. He attended Middlebury College, for the 1938-39 academic year, where he also played football.
On Feb. 8, 1941, Ed signed up with the Vermont National Guard. After graduating from Officer Training School at Fort Benning, Georgia, in June of 1942, he received secret orders to join the 1st Infantry Division and to prepare for overseas movement. After studying the statistics on officer survival in WWI, he left home convinced he would never see his family or beloved Green Mountains again.
On his birthday, Aug. 5, 1942, he was aboard the Queen Mary (so overloaded that enlisted men were assigned spaces on the floor for an eight-hour time slot to sleep) heading for training in England. He was 24.
After weeks of amphibious training in Scotland, his first landing was on Nov. 8, 1942, as part of an amphibious attack on the City of Oran. He was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action in the Oran offensive while serving with Company M, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division near Ferme Combier, Algeria, 8, 9 and 10 Nov. 1942. The citation reads, "During the Oran offensive, Lieutenant Buttolph kept the guns of his platoon in almost constant action, holding off superior enemy forces. During this action, he proceeded from gun to gun under direct enemy machine gun, mortar and artillery fire, reconnoitered ahead of his gun positions and sniped at the enemy who were attempting to advance. His coolness under fire was an inspiration to his men."
Edward also saw action in Tunisia and Sicily. He experienced his third amphibious landing when he landed on Normandy Beach on D-Day plus one. Edward proceeded to fight through France and into Germany, including the battle of Hurtgen Forest. His idea to take troops through the woods instead of over a road exposed to heavy German artillery fire, likely saved hundreds of lives.
By the end of his service, he had fought in six major campaigns, spent 14 months in a foxhole and served as a Company Commander, Company Executive and an Intelligence Officer. He was awarded a Purple Heart for one of his three wounds during combat, a Combat Infantry Badge, the ETO Ribbon with six battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation.
After the Sicily offensive, he was sent to Swanage, England, where he met his future wife, Barbara Coast, who was serving in the Royal Air Force. They married on July 14, 1945. A video of their reflections of their wartime experiences is available at https://vimeo.com/46152528.
After the war, he and Barbara settled first in Salisbury, Vermont, and then, in Middlebury in 1950. Edward worked in real estate and began to purchase timber land. In 1949, he went to work for the Cooperative Fire Insurance Co. where he worked until 1968.
From July 1951 to July 1952, he returned to active duty in the reserves training troops for the Korean War.
For many years, he was the Coop's only claims adjuster for the northern half of Vermont. His travels around the state allowed him to hear about timber land for sale. He and his children spent many weekends searching land records, surveying property lines, and by 1968, he decided to work full time managing his timber business and developing Buttolph Acres in Middlebury.
Ed and Barbara were very committed to conserving land in Vermont for future public enjoyment. In 2008, with the help of the Vermont Land Trust, they conserved more than 2,700 acres of their lands in Moretown, Bakersfield, Waterville and Bolton.
Edward served on the Middlebury Board of Trustees from 1966 to 1968 and again, in 1970. He served on the Town of Middlebury Board of Selectmen from 1975 to 1979.
He and Barbara lived in Middlebury until 1988 when they moved to Leicester to their home on Lake Dunmore. In 2012, they moved to The Residence at Otter Creek in Middlebury and lived there until Barbara's death in December 2014. They had been married for 69 years. Edward lived for two-and-a-half years with his son, Martin and his family, in Middlebury. In his final months, he lived with his daughter, Alison and her family, in Falls Church, Virginia. When his health took a turn for the worse, he was lovingly cared for in her home until the time of his death.
A hunter for almost 90 years, a highlight of his life was always the annual deer hunt with his sons Christopher, David and Martin, along with Bill, Will and Chas Mraz, Ray Collins, Roger Wales and others over the years. His Virginia grandsons David and Jason accompanied him on his last hunt when he was 98.
Ed also loved to play and teach the game of bridge. For years, he played duplicate bridge in Briny Breezes, Florida, where he and Barbara spent winters. He also played regularly in Rutland with his friend, Harry Smith, amongst others. Recently, he taught and played bridge at The Residence and other venues in Middlebury. In the fall of 2017, he travelled to Canada with his daughter, Janet, to play duplicate bridge. The U.S. border guard was pretty surprised when he looked at Ed's identification, realized his age and learned the purpose of the trip. In his final days, Ed was still teaching others how to play.
He will be remembered for his dedication to his family, his love of nature and the state of Vermont, and his support for inclusivity and tolerance. When asked about his even temperament, his favorite saying was, "I don't get worried or upset unless someone is shooting at me with live ammunition." He had a wry sense of humor which he exhibited to the end.
He is survived by his children Christopher, of Jeffersonville, Vermont; Janet Johnson, of East Fallowfield, Pennsylvania; David (Jerilyn), of Lititz, Pennsylvania; Martin (Fawnda), of Middlebury, Vermont; and Alison Kutchma (David), of Falls Church, Virginia. He is also survived by his younger sister, Mabel Buttolph, of South Burlington; and by eleven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held at the Middlebury Congregational Church on Saturday, June 2, 2018, at 1 p.m. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Porter Medical Center, 115 Porter Drive, Middlebury, VT 05753; and Camp Thorpe, P.O. Box 82, Brandon, VT 05733.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Sanderson-Ducharme Funeral Home.
Online condolences at www.sandersonfuneralservice.com.