Laura (Towne) Parsons - Stanley

RICHFORD - Laura B. (Towne) Parsons - Stanley, age 103, passed away Monday morning, May 16, 2016 at the Manor Nursing Home in Morrisville.

She was born January 19, 1913 in Milton, the daughter of the late John H. & Pearl D. (Marvin) Towne.

Laura was a resident of Richford most of her life and was a member of the Richford United Methodist Church where she sang in the church choir and was a longtime member of the WSCS.

At the age of 16 she graduated from Milton High School class of 1929. She then received her Bachelors Degree in 1933 from the University of Vermont and was a member of the UVM Rifle Team. For the next 7 years she taught school in Fairfax and at a one room school house in Georgia. She then attended Simmons College in Boston receiving her Masters Degree in 1945 in Psychiatric Social Work. On October 6, 1944 she married Milton Mit Parsons and together they raised their 5 children on the Parsons Farm in Richford. Along with farming she raised chickens and maintained an egg route throughout the town of Richford. She went back to teaching at the Richford Elementary School in 1965 retiring in 1972. She married Leland Stanley in 1972. He predeceased her in 1990.

She was a member of Vermont State Retired Teachers Association, a former member of the Farm Bureau and served several years as a 4-H leader teaching cooking and sewing. She enjoyed reading, gardening and traveling.

She is survived by her sons and their wives, Chester & Kathleen Parsons and Daniel & Pamela Parsons all of Richford; her daughters, Susan Mazer and her partner Craig Helfrich of Westford, Martha Haggerty and her husband Allen of Essex Jct., and Nora Parsons and her husband Tim Foley of Bennington; her step daughter, Loisanne Underwood of St. Albans; her grandchildren, Janine, Matthew, Gaben, Joshua, Katherine, Michael, Katie, Emily, Jennie, Daniel & Caleb; her great grandchildren, Anna, Siena, Steele, Preslee, Jude, Ethan, Lila, Indigo, Sage, Matilda, Ewan, Oliver, Cora, Sebastian & Charlie; her step grandsons, Mark & Michael Underwood; her brothers, Carroll Towne of Milton, and Neil Towne of Kelseyville, CA; her sister, Alice Sheppard of Ijamsville, MD; her sister-in-law, Audrey Towne of Milton; many nieces and nephews. Besides her parents, Laura was predeceased by her first husband, Milton Parsons; her second husband, Leland Stanley; and her grandsons, Milton Mit Parsons & Trevor Parsons; her brothers, Robert, Paul, Eugene & Donovan Towne; her sisters, Helen Smith, Dorothy Mayo & Pearl Welch.

Memorial services will be held Saturday, May 21, 2016 at 1:00 PM at the Richford United Methodist Church, 86 River Street, Richford with Rev. Jon Bly officiating. Interment will follow in the Hillside Cemetery.

Visiting hours will be held Friday, May 20th from 4-7 PM at the Spears Funeral Home, 96 Dickinson Ave., Enosburg Falls

For those who wish, contributions in Lauras memory may be made to the United Methodist Church of Richford, C/O Carolyn Smith, 49 Magoon Road, Richford, VT 05476.