PAULINE (POLLY) ELIZABETH HUNT PETERS - FERRISBURGH - Pauline (Polly) Elizabeth Hunt Peters, age 94, passed away quietly Memorial Day morning in Helen Porter Healthcare Center. She was born Dec. 31, 1916, the beloved only child of Lee and Mary (Molly) Stone Hunt. Her family history through her mother, Molly, is prominent in Vergennes. Her grandparents, George Stone and his wife, Mary Adelaide Bristol Stone, once ran a hotel on the site of Bixby Library. Grandfather George was involved in a number of Vergennes businesses in the late 1800s. Polly spent a happy childhood in the Little City. Then her father, Lee, an insurance salesman, was transferred to Burlington, where Polly graduated Valedictorian from Burlington High School in 1932. When she attended the University of Vermont, where she graduated in 1936, she met her future husband, William (Bill) Peters from Bradford. They celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on April 5, 2011. Upon graduating, Polly taught at Vergennes High School, where Bill had been the agriculture instructor since 1934. They were married in 1941 and moved to Thetford to be closer to Bill's family in the Upper Valley. Polly continued her teaching career at Thetford Academy until 1945, when her son, Edward (Ted), was born. Polly was skilled in a variety of subjects, including Latin, Math, English, History, and Drama. She also lived in and ran the Academy's dormitory for boys until 1951, when she and Bill renovated an old farmhouse. Her daughter, Jeanne, was born in 1949. After her children were older, Polly worked part-time as an assistant in the geology department of Dartmouth College. In 1967, Polly and Bill moved back to Vergennes to be closer to Polly's aging parents. Some of that time Polly worked at the Gaines Insurance Agency. Over the decades, Polly became known as the queen of rummage sales, organizing large annual events to benefit the Thetford and then the Vergennes Congregational Church, and later at Zellwood Station, Fla., a winter home for many years. Throughout her life Polly was a devotee of the game of bridge. She and her mother, Molly, were founding members of the Vergennes Bridge Club. She was an expert player and mentor in Vermont and Florida up until her eyesight failed at age 93. Generous, caring, and devoted to her friends and family, Polly never missed acknowledging a birthday or anniversary with a beautifully written letter or, on special occasions, a poem. Her husband, Bill, of Ferrisburgh; her children, Ted Peters and his wife, Judy, of Thetford, and her daughter, Jeanne, of Ferrisburgh; her grand- children, Cheryl Lynne Peters of Randolph, Penny and her husband, Russ Aceto, of Fairfax, Mary Lou and her husband, Scott Jones, of Westbrook, Conn., and Charles Peters and his wife, Denise, of Thetford; and her great-grandchildren, Trevor and Connor Jones and Kayleigh Aceto (shown in the photograph at Polly's 94th birthday celebration) will hold her in their hearts and memories with love. The family would like to acknowledge the caring and concern of the many caregivers who helped Polly through the last year and a half of her life, including private home care, Elderly Services, Helen Porter Healthcare Center, Home Health and Hospice, and Hospice Volunteer Services, who kept vigil in her final days. A memorial service will be held at Vergennes Congregational Church, 30 South Water Street, on Saturday, June 4, 2011, at 10 a.m. Rev. Gary Lewis will preside, with music from Jeanne's fellow choir members and Julia Blocksma, organist. The service will be followed by a luncheon reception in the Church's Fellowship Hall, where Polly's life will be celebrated in pictures. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to the Vergennes Area Rescue Squad, P. O. Box 11, Vergennes, VT 05491 or Hospice Volunteer Services, P.O. Box 772, Middlebury, VT 05753.