Roger Paul Trachier

Roger Paul Trachier

Hartland, VT - It is with sadness that the family of Roger Paul Trachier of Hartland, Vermont announces his passing after 88 journeys around the sun. Roger succumbed to a fast-growing, very rare form of cancer on April 16, 2025, while being cared for by family at home.

When asked recently how he would sum up his life, Roger replied "coming and going." That says it all… or does it? He was a man of few words - a very humble, quiet and shy person, unless discussing a topic that he really cared about - and he squeezed many activities into his time between coming into this world and quietly going out.

Roger was born on May 17, 1936, to Florice (Best) LaMountain and Earl LaMountain at Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital in Hanover, New Hampshire. He was raised in Woodstock, Vermont. When his mother married Maurice Trachier, who became Roger's much-loved adoptive father, his name was legally changed from Roger Earl LaMountain to Roger Paul Trachier. Roger completed Woodstock High School in 1954, in the last class to graduate from that building. Not immune from some of the "devilish" pranks that boys sometimes get up to, Roger once put a cherry bomb onto Owen H's car starter motor. It went off with a loud "bang," a whistle, and lots of smoke, creating a memory that, when shared recently, still brought a laugh and a twinkle to his eyes.

Finding the love of his life happened quickly: Roger met Clydene Richardson of Hartland during a double date arranged by his cousin Marilyn Best. They became engaged after a short courtship and married on October 6, 1956, at the Brick Church in Hartland. That began a tight partnership which lasted for the rest of his life. Roger's son, Gary, arrived in April 1959, and daughter Andrea was born in March 1963. Providing for his family was a responsibility Roger took very seriously.

Roger worked hard at a variety of paid jobs, invariably punching above his weight. His first was as a laborer at the Bridgewater Woolen Mill. He learned a lot about carpentry and other construction techniques while working for Max Boynton. He was a machinist for some time, and he did property maintenance and construction at Quechee Lakes for several years. After all these, he started his own very successful business, "Roger Trachier Builders," which he and Clydene, who was vice president and bookkeeper for the business, operated as a team until their retirement. Roger never shied away from hard work, but he was also very canny about making whatever task was at hand as efficient as possible and making the best use of resources that other people might not notice. This skill became a key to his professional success and a boon to the community projects he was involved in.

Roger's resourceful and persistent nature led him to many impressive accomplishments. At his daughter's birth, he became the first father allowed into the delivery room at Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital by wearing down the doctor's resistance to the idea. Afterwards, a survey of prospective parents resulted in a policy change, and fathers attending births became accepted practice. Roger built the family home himself, with some help in the early stages from friends and neighbors. In 1959, that meant a lot of manual labor: building forms, mixing and pouring concrete, and even hauling logs cut on the property to the mill, then returning the sawn boards to the house site. The project taught him many things about home construction - and began a long-term passion for seeking out and using the best and most up-to-date construction practices for his clients. In 1980, as an early adopter of energy-efficient construction practices and solar power, he installed a solar hot water system on the roof of his home, and it worked well for four decades! In 1993, Roger played key roles in devising and implementing an ingenious system for removing, not just trimming, Eurasian Watermilfoil from Halls Lake in Newbury, Vermont: a slow-moving barge both supplied air to divers below while they carefully hand-pulled the invasive plants by the roots and also used gentle suction to remove the pulled plants and convey them into fine-mesh baskets in a floating trailer, to be emptied and taken to a landfill. The rig was so successful that it was rented by the town of Fairlee for Lake Morey, and in 1998 the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources conferred upon Roger the "Excellence in Lake Protection" award in the area of Eurasian Watermilfoil management.

Along with his busy work life and raising a family, Roger made time to promote and volunteer for many community-enhancing projects, several with long-lasting benefits. Here are highlights from the long list of projects - many in Hartland - for which he was either the spark plug or a strong team member.

When a serious drought affected many Hartland residents, Roger helped set up a pump at a spring at the former fairgrounds to bring water to the surface for townspeople who needed it.

In the late 1960s, when Hartland's small separate schools were becoming overcrowded, Roger and Clydene joined other townspeople to successfully campaign and vote to build a single, consolidated school. Roger also served on the building committee for the new school.

At a town auction of surplus property, he bought the bell from each of the three closed schools, then built an outdoor display for them at the new school, preserving this history for all to enjoy.

When the community outgrew the Martin Memorial Library, Roger was part of the effort to have the town buy the land and build a new library on Foster Meadow. He also served on the library building committee after the town acquired the property.

Vermont's inaugural "Green Up Day" was in 1970, and Roger was there to organize Hartland's volunteers to pick up trash from the sides of all town roads - a role he continued for several years.

He organized the cleanup of Lull Brook and its banks - from the headwaters to Martinsville - after many decades of people discarding unwanted things there. After he walked the entire length of the brook, taking notes, he organized volunteers to haul out all of the debris, including refrigerators, chest freezers, cars, car tires, and countless smaller items. Lull Brook is now a welcoming recreational and natural resource for the community.

Roger and longtime Hartland resident Henry Merritt worked together to build the post-and-beam gazebo which is on the Hartland Recreation Center grounds. Roger also helped move the gazebo a short distance, when that became necessary.

When the Hartland Volunteer Fire Department outgrew the tiny storage building used for the North Hartland fire truck, Roger facilitated the framing and roofing of the new station in one day.

Seeing a need to help aging neighbors remain at home during their later years, Roger and Clydene became early supporters of Aging in Hartland (AiH). In two examples of "what goes around comes around," Roger delivered meals on wheels for some time and received such meals while recovering from surgeries, and he and Clydene not only relied on timely visits from a Hartland Community Nurse but also allowed use of the former Roger Trachier Builders business office as the program's home base.

When Roger allowed himself some leisure time, it often involved the outdoors. As a boy, he and his dog would ramble over the hills between Woodstock village and Hartland. Garvin Hill in Hartland and Mount Peg in Woodstock were his favorite areas. Later in life, hunting was an excuse to be in the woods and see what's on the other side of the next hill. He also enjoyed downhill skiing with family and friends, and he was an avid baseball player, first on Woodstock teams, then the Hartland town team, mostly playing first base. His urge to see the other side of the next hill extended to exploring Vermont, New England, and many other locations that he and Clydene could get to in a camper. Perhaps the frosting on that cake was their trip to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where they met up with "the Fearless Five" (their daughter, her husband, their two teenage kids, and a friend). The five bicycled back to Vermont with Roger and Clydene meeting them most evenings to share a meal and camp together.

Closer to home, Roger and Clydene relaxed contentedly at their camp on Halls Lake in West Newbury, Vermont. After he fully winterized the camp, he would enjoy a cross-country ski on the lake before hunkering down next to the woodstove in the evening. In warmer weather, few things gave Roger more pride than to share this happy place through picnic gatherings with family and friends. His most cherished way to spend leisure time there was soaking up sunshine, puttering on projects, and reading. In fact, he became a voracious reader of non-fiction and enjoyed learning more about the history, flora, and fauna of his native Vermont.

Roger was predeceased by his mother Florice Best LaMountain Trachier, stepfather Maurice Trachier, and father Earl LaMountain; sister Louise Trachier Maville and half-siblings Marie LaMountain Wurtz and John LaMountain; and Hartland aunts and uncles Joyce Best Motschman, Helen Best Hatch, Ralph Best, Clifford Best, and Floyd Best.

Roger is survived by his wife Clydene; son Gary Trachier (Ione) of Hartland; daughter Andrea Trachier Ambros (Theodore) of Hartland; grandson Marshall Ambros (Megan) and their children Asher, Ingrid, and Gordon of Wisconsin; granddaughter Alexandra Ambros of Oregon; half-siblings Nancy LaMountain Richard (Kevin) of Indiana, Shirley Tullar (Wayne) of Lyme, NH, and Robert LaMountain (Alice) of East Thetford, VT; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

At Roger's request, there will not be any calling hours, funeral, or burial service. His ashes will be scattered at a location he has chosen. There will be a summertime celebration of Roger's life at Damon Hall in Hartland on Saturday, July 12.

Donations may be given in Roger's memory to Aging in Hartland, the Brick Church of Hartland, or Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire.

An on-line guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com