Obituary: Nelson Dibbell
January 22, 1927 - September 29, 2021
October 6, 2021 Nelson Dibbell, 94, of Waterbury Center, passed away peacefully on September 29, 2021, at the Woodridge Nursing Home in Berlin.
Nelson Dibble / courtesy photo
Nelson was born at Heaton Hospital in Montpelier on January 22, 1927, to the late Leslie George and Ethel Alice (Towne) Dibbell. He attended the local grade school and graduated from Waterbury High School in 1945.
Nelson married Helen Mary Margraf of Winchester, Conn., on January 22, 1948, in Waterbury Center. They met through mutual friends and not long after that Nelson told Helen, “When you stop smoking, I’m going to marry you.” She immediately stopped and they were married soon after. Helen predeceased Nelson on February 10, 2012.
At 8 years old, Nelson started working in the barn on the Waterbury Center dairy farm his father managed. At age 11 he began milking the cows and he never looked back. Eventually, Hugh Lyon hired him to run the Lyon Farm on Gregg Hill in Waterbury Center. For about 10 years he also worked for the Perkins-Parker funeral home in Waterbury, and from time to time he milked for other farmers who needed to be away. He and Helen spent 57 happy years on the farm before he finally retired at age 81. They moved to the Green Mountain Seminary Building in the Center, where they made many friends, and Nelson became the de facto chauffeur for anyone who needed a ride anywhere, the further the better.
Those who knew Nelson know that his passions were talking about, haggling for and buying cars; driving the back roads of Vermont for hours just because; and traveling any number of miles for a good meal and a cold beer at one of his favorite restaurants. He never met a person who did not become his friend within five minutes and by the end of the conversations he could recite their life histories. He was a hard-working farmer and a favorite photo op for Vermont Life Magazine photographers. On hot summer days, people driving Route 100 from Waterbury Center to Stowe might be treated to the sound of Nelson singing “You Are My Sunshine” at the top of his lungs while driving his tractor out in the hayfield on Gregg Hill. He knew every farmer and farm in Vermont and could and would discourse endlessly on their cows, their fields, and their backgrounds. Nelson was a good man who still believed in the trust and honesty of a handshake deal.
Nelson belonged to the local Waterbury Center Grange #237, the Winooski Lodge #49 F&M of Waterbury, and the Waterbury Center Methodist Church, and held memberships in many agricultural organizations.
Nelson is survived by his daughter Sandy and her husband Gilbert Blanchard Jr. of Cavendish; his son Alan and wife Xiaohong (Yang) of Waterbury Center; and his son Richard and wife Judee (Aubertin) of Florida; as well as one grandson, several great-grandchildren, two nephews and their families, and multiple generations of cousins. He was predeceased by his sister and two grandchildren.
The family wants to thank the staff at Heaton Woods and Woodridge Nursing Home for their love of and care for Nelson during the times that he stayed with them.
A service will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 6, at 2 p.m. at the Maple Street Cemetery in Waterbury Center. The family suggests that in lieu of sending flowers, a memorial gift in Nelson’s honor would be appreciated by either the Waterbury Senior Center or Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice.