Charles W. “Chuck” Crowther, 83, of Brattleboro. Died peacefully on May 14, 2020 at his home.
He was born in East Derry, N.H., the second son of Stephen T. Crowther and Margaret Elizabeth (Gleason) Crowther. He was the husband of Mary “Maisie” B. (Goodale) Crowther, whom he married in 1966. Chuck attended Laconia (N.H.) High School and furthered his education at the University of New Hampshire where he received his B.A. in Economics in 1959, and his M.A. in English education. He was social chair of Acacia Fraternity while an undergraduate, participated in Freshman Camp orientation, Band, Concert Choir, and enlisted in Army ROTC. After college, he completed his Army infantry training. He was honorably discharged at the rank of first lieutenant in 1968.
Employment for Chuck started at an early age when he worked for Armstrong Co., dispensing ice cream to visitors to the Lakes Region and worked as a Life Guard on Lake Winnipesaukee. His first teaching job was as English Instructor in Stratford, Conn. After moving to Cambridge, Mass., he taught at Emerson Junior High in Concord, Mass.
In 1965, he moved to Brattleboro, where he began a long association with the School for International Training. He had participated in the People to People summer program in 1961 and led a group to Sweden for The Experiment in International Living in 1963. In Brattleboro, he taught in the English Department of Brattleboro Union High School from 1969 to 1971.
Answering the call for English teachers from the Fulbright Scholarship Program, he and his family set off for Anatolia College, Thessaloniki, Greece, in the fall of 1971, and renewed the contract for a second year. Returning to Vermont, he taught English at Wilmington High School from 1974 to 1983. He spent summers taking courses at Yale Summer Language Institute and Boston University or teaching at Phillips Andover Academy and Phillips Brooks Academy.
In 1981, he earned a scholarship to participate in Earthwatch archeological ‘dig’ of a monastery in Farfa, Sabena, Italy. His appetite whetted for travel and teaching abroad, he trained in skills for teaching English as a second language. His interest in American Literature teamed up with the grammar and vocabulary of global business, which led him to appointments in Casa Thomas Jefferson, Brasilia, Brazil, (1983); Saudi Arabia (1985); Ukraine (summers, 1994-98), and a full academic year in Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine, (2003-04).
He served on the board of Northern New England Teachers of Students of Other Languages (TESOL). In Brattleboro, he was active with the Brattleboro Adult Education program, helping refugees from Vietnam and Nepal become acquainted with American cultural and language. Through Global Business Associates, Chuck taught English to foreign agricultural executives who were drawn to Brattleboro by the Holstein Association. He tutored students from other countries who attended Marlboro College. In retirement from teaching,
Chuck was a real estate agent with Don Long Realtors. Chuck also enjoyed lunch with his companions at the Brattleboro Senior Center where he found his stories and jokes had an appreciative audience, and where he served on the Senior Corporation. Music and playing tennis were his hobbies. He played clarinet with the Brattleboro American Legion Band, and sang for a time in the Community Choir. He enjoyed his membership at the Brattleboro Tennis Club, often playing with a regular early Sunday morning group, “God is a Perfect Lob.” He loved long walks on Crane Beach in Ipswich, attending retreats at The Weston Priory, and socializing with friends at All Souls Church.
Chuck is survived by his wife, Maisie; daughter Carol Studer of Davis, Calif., and son Mark and his wife Susan (Fagelson) Crowther of Elizabethton, Tenn.; his grandchildren, Douglas Studer, Sam Ingersoll, and Luc Thibodeau, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his older brother, Thomas S. Crowther. MEMORIAL INFORMATION: No formal services are planned at this time. Donations to Brattleboro Senior Meals, in care of Senior Meals, 207 Main St., Brattleboro, VT 05301.