George St. Amour

George Edgar St. Amour, age 84, of Colchester, Vermont passed away peacefully in his home in the company of his loving wife Patti and family on Friday, February 28th. George had endured a long battle with lung cancer over the past two years and he courageously confronted it until the very end.

George was born on January 15, 1942 in Essex Center and grew up in the classic rural New England style. He is among the last of the traditional New England Yankee’s, possessing the wit, wisdom and humor one would expect from this type of personality. George was a third-generation Vermonter and lived his entire life in Vermont.

As a young man, George worked on a nearby farm helping manage a herd of Guernsey dairy cows. He helped his family perform traditional farm homestead chores – cutting and splitting firewood, haying, raising pigs, working the garden crops and maple sugaring.

George married his wife Patti in 1961 and they lived in Essex Junction, Westford and Colchester raising their three sons Brian, Bruce and Brad. George and Patti were married for 63 years. George was a loving husband and father and worked for ST Griswold Company for 60 years, supporting his family. 

George and Patti were avid gardeners and they had numerous vegetable and flower gardens of considerable size and they enjoyed living the outdoor, country life. George loved to share his vegetables with friends and neighbors. George loved to cook, some of his favorite dishes included split pea and ham hock, new potatoes and green beans and fried fish including yellow perch, smelt, salmon, bass, northern pike and walleye. 

George was an avid fisherman and enjoyed Lake Champlain for decades – ice fishing almost daily in the winter and bass fishing almost daily in the summer. George had a bass boat with two speeds – idle and full throttle, his boat was known to almost take flight on rare occasions. George was known by many locals as the “walleye king” due to his fishing skill. 

George had many colorful experiences and stories throughout his life. One story involved an ice fishing incident during which a fellow fisherman passed away in his shanty while fishing, after EMS had taken the gentleman away George, out of curiosity, checked the gentleman’s’ fish line and found that there were two yellow perch still on the line. Another story involved the time a lovesick moose peered into George and Patti’s living room bay window one evening for a considerable time, requiring George to have to clean the moose nose marks and slobber off the window the next day. It was long suspected that the moose, perhaps lonely, was yearning to hear a few of George's adventurous and humorous stories. Once during a visit to his son Brian in Texas, he stated that he speculated a sizable portion of Vermont could fit within the boundaries of the Houston Intercontinental Airport.

George is survived by his wife Patti and sons Brian and wife Tricia of Rogers, Texas; Bruce and partner Ira Flateman of Winooski, Vermont; and Brad and wife Marcia of Milton, Vermont.

They have five grandchildren: Matt and wife Emma St. Amour of Conroe, Texas; Nicole and partner Noah Chapa of Austin, Texas; Emily and husband Owen Strickland of Allen, Texas; and brothers Nathaniel and Zachary St. Amour of Milton, Vermont.

There will be no funeral service at this time, however a graveside service will be scheduled for early spring, weather permitting, or as George might have said, "we have to wait until the spring thaw,".

A special thank you to the staff of the Chittenden County Community Hospice Program for the loving care and support. Also, a special thank you to Deacon Candidate, Joe Myers and Fr. Rod Oliver Saligan with immaculate Heart of Mary, Williston, Vermont for being there near the end of George's life.