Obituary: Dale Leland Kellogg Smeltzer

September 4, 1955 – December 1, 2024 

December 4, 2024

Dale Smeltzer. 1955-2024

Dale Leland Kellogg Smeltzer died unexpectedly in Waterbury on December 1, 2024 at the age of 69. Born in Morrisville, Vermont, on September 4, 1955, to Franklin and Marion (Keeler) Kellogg, Dale grew up in Stowe with her three sisters and graduated from Stowe High School in 1973. She attended Bates College, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology, and later earned a Master of Science degree in plant pathology from the University of Minnesota.

She met her future husband, Eric Smeltzer, at Bates and they married in 1979. The couple moved to Waterbury Center in 1980 where they raised two sons. Dale made the choice to be a full-time homemaker, providing an enriching early childhood to her sons and volunteering in the local schools.

The family’s house was off the electric grid for the first 35 years, and Dale became an expert at cooking on a wood stove and managing varying amounts of electric power and hot water produced on-site. Dale also devoted many years to community service in Waterbury, including more than a decade serving on and chairing various school boards in the local district.

Dale’s final month of life was filled with the joy of having an infant granddaughter, Frida, born in Trondheim, Norway, to son Ben Smeltzer and Signe Olsborg.

She is survived and deeply missed by her husband Eric, son Ben Smeltzer and partner Signe Olsborg and their daughter Frida, son Neal Smeltzer and partner Tisha Achorn, and her sisters Kate Kruesi, Elizabeth Lackey, and Elaine Kellogg. 

A private family memorial is planned for a later date. It is her family’s wish that contributions in Dale’s memory be made to COTS (Committee on Temporary Shelter) or Capstone Community Action.

Online condolences may be made on the Perkins Parker Funeral Home website.