NAN PILCHER FRYMOYER

NAN PILCHER FRYMOYER COLCHESTER / SANIBEL, Fla. - As a beautiful sunrise unfolded on Sept. 14, 2010, Nan Pilcher Frymoyer of Colchester and Sanibel, Fla. passed away in the Masschusetts General Hospital, surrounded by her family. Over the course of the past 26 years she valiantly had carried on as a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, nurse and community activist despite numerous complications of Rheumatic Heart Disease. Indeed, her doctors labeled her, "The Cat Lady!" Nan was born March 11, 1937 in Boston, Mass., the daughter of Dr. Lewis and Eleanor Pilcher. Perhaps because she was the only girl in a family of three boys, Nan was competitive in all that she did, had an indomitable spirit, a zest for life, and an ironic, self- effacing sense of humor. She also had a strong sense of the importance of the community, and a fierce support for her four daughters. In an interview with the Burlington Free Press, she said, "Our goal is to make the community a better place," and she did, serving as President of the South Burlington League of Women Voters, President of the Central and Middle School PTO's, Chair of Bike Committee, which successfully put in the trails of South Burlington, and as a member of the South Burlington School Board. Almost single-handedly, she lobbied for and implemented girls soccer and baseball programs at the High School. In 1984, Nan's life changed when Rheumatic Heart Disease was discovered, which led to her requiring mitral valve replacement, a fairly new and not altogether safe operation. Through the incredible skills of Dr. Lawrence Coffin and supported by her cardiologist, Walter Gundal, and her internist, William Stouch, she had a complete recovery. Dr. Coffin asked if she would serve as a resource to other patients, and this initiated a new career in Patient Education. As a result, she went for four years to UVM's School of Nursing, and also got a Masters in Education. After working on medical and rehabilitation wards at the then Medical Center Hospital of Vermont, she was given the opportunity to start a Community Health Education Program. Over the next years, she successfully built and implemented such a program, which now is established as the Nan Frymoyer Community Health Resource Center at Fletcher Allen. In her spare time, she volunteered for "Lady's First," counseling women on the importance of preventive care, particularly breast cancer, which she had experienced first hand. She also kept her interest in developing future nurses by serving on the Advisory Board of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. In a lecture to Nursing Students, she noted her health problems had positively impacted her life, and given her an opportunity to really serve the community in health education. In addition to all her professional activities, she served as a consummate hostess to a generation of orthopaedic residents and attendings, visiting professors, and her seemingly innumerable friends in Vermont and Florida, particularly her golfing buddies at the Burlington Country Club and the Dunes in Sanibel, Fla. And, to top it off, she was an avid athlete, particularly a golfer, tennis player, and sailor, as well as an avid supporter of her daughters' and grand- children's athletic endeavors. She even made Sports Illustrated after she and her sailing partner, Phyllis (Carlson) Freeman, won the Women's Intercollegiate Sailing Competition in l957. Nan was a graduate of Beaver Country Day School, and kept quiet the fact she had debuted to Boston Society in l955. She attended Mount Holyoke College, where she met her lifelong friend and partner, John Frymoyer, whom she married on June 20, l959. He survives her. Together they had four daughters, Susan Hodge of Fort Myers, Fla., Lynn Boynton of Rutland, Meg Stebbins of Holliston, Mass., and Betsey Rhynhart of Hopkington, N.H. In addition to her daughters, she is survived by her sonsin-law, Mitchell Hodge, Mel Boynton, Peter Stebbins, and Kurt Rhynhart; and her beloved grandchildren, to whom she was the consummate "Nanny," Jordan, John-Michael, and Miguel Hodge, Chandler, Kane, and Ellie Boynton, Emily and Sarah Stebbins, and Pieter, Will, and Maddy Rhynhart. With their entire family, Nan and John celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in a trip to England in June 2009 where they had been on a sabbatical in l976, accompanied by the entire family. Nan was predeceased by her oldest brother, Steven, and is survived by her brothers, David Pilcher, MD and his spouse, Suzanne, and his former wife, Jean Pilcher, and Paul Pilcher of Wellfleet, Mass. She also is survived by her nephew, John Walker Pilcher, with whom she had a special relationship, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, and an extended family at Braeloch in Colchester, to whom she was the beloved "Nanny." Over the past years, Nan has been admirably served by the medical profession as she faced many challenging health issues. The family is deeply appreciative of Drs. Coffin, Gundal, and Stouch, and more recently, Drs. Tanja Bersch, Chris Higgins, James Howe, Robert Hammell, and Bruce Tranmar. The family also is indebted to the nursing staff of FAHC Medical Intensive Care Unit, and the Neurologic Step down Unit, as well as the staff of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, Mass., particularly Dr. Ron Herschberg, who represents the very best of UVM's Medical Graduates. A memorial service will be held at the Shelburne Methodist Church on Friday, Oct. l, 2010 at 2 p.m. In view of Nan's zest for life, the family asks that you honor her by wearing bright colors; no black, please! An interment service will be held at the family's convenience in Newton, Mass. The family requests that gifts in Nan's honor be directed to the Nan Frymoyer Community Health Resource Center, c/o Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, VT 05401, or to the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, in support of Nursing Programs, at the University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401.