David William Romano

David William Romano, 62, of Rutland, Vermont, passed away after a year long illness, on December 16, with his family by his side. He was born on August 19, 1963 in Rutland, Vermont to John Carmen Romano and Lorine Congdon Durfee. David attended Rutland High School. In 1982, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Storekeeper on the U.S.S. Mahlon S. Tisdale. While on the ship, his superior officers acknowledged his outstanding performance and noted that his contributions were of the highest caliber of professionalism. After serving in the Navy, he found the love of his life, Melissa Rae Fontaine. They married in 1994, in Rutland, Vermont, and had two loving children, Sara and Dominic. David's work career was highlighted by his position as Director of Sales and Key Accounts at Baker Distributing, where he worked for 37 years. He attended many conferences, traveling to London, Mexico, and Ireland. His passion, however, was learning about wine and winemaking from the grape growing to the bottling of the finished product. As a member of the Rutland community, David joined the Knights of Columbus, The Loyal Order of Moose, The Italian Aid Society, and The Italian American Club where he served on the Board of Trustees. From a young age, David was gifted with artistic abilities, recreating "Peanuts" comics at age 3, drawing portraits, and even sculpting a large papier-mache elephant. He also possessed strong mechanical skills. He always seemed to have a solution to any problem he faced. David had many hobbies and interests which included biking with his brother Dean, fishing with coworkers, competing in Spartan races, participating in many murder mystery games and playing in a bocce league at The Italian American Club. Every summer, David and his family took vacations. His favorite spots to visit were Maine and Cape Cod where he explored the history, sampled local foods, and relaxed by the beach. He also maintained a pristine garden. He used his fruits and vegetables to enhance his culinary skills as host of his famous gourmet Sunday night dinners for his extended family followed by weekly trivia games. His Sundays included a cold craft beer and watching the New England Patriots. During the summer and fall seasons, his Monday nights were spent at The Italian American Club playing bocce with his brother, Dean. In his later years, David enjoyed watching and learning about the birds that perched on his back deck among his many feeders. His favorite bird was the cedar waxwing. Survivors include his wife, Melissa Romano of Rutland, his children, Sara (Austin) Monte and Dominic Romano of Rutland; his mother, Lorine Hagar of Weston; his brother and sisters, John Romano of North Clarendon, Lori (Scott Graves) Romano of Milford, NH, Dean Romano of Rutland, Jesse (Carolyn) Hagar of Boston, MA and
Heidi (Justin) Lynaugh of Lyndon; his special Uncle and Aunt, Donald and Terry Romano of Rutland; his step-mother, Peggy Romano of Rutland and her family; his mother and father-in-law, Sylvia Fontaine and Ed Weber of Castleton, and many extended family, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his father, John Carmen Romano, who passed away in 2024 and his grandmother, Helen Durfee, who passed away in 2011. The funeral will be held at Christ the King Church on January 8, 2026 at 11:00 am with a Celebration of Life to follow at the Italian American Club in Rutland. Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital through the funeral home office. "It was a life worth living" – David Romano