George F Putnam

West Newbury, VT - George F. Putnam passed away at home in West Newbury on July 22, 2022 after a brief illness. He was born on Feb 21, 1929 at the family farm on Putnam Lane. He lived there for 91 years, excepting for his time in the Air Force, moving to Stagecoach Road in the last two years of his life to be with his partner, Aroline.
George went to the one-room schoolhouse in West Newbury village and Newbury High School, graduating in 1948. He enjoyed helping his father with the haying and with sugaring at the Newbury Center sugarhouse. He played basketball, football, and baseball. He was also a “Future Farmers of America” member, despite the fact that he professed to actually disliking anything to do with cows. He did enjoy working on machinery, however, and he learned how to do the mechanic work on the farm vehicles and family car. Immediately after graduation, George enlisted in the Air Force where he was assigned as a mechanic and had formal training in Cheyenne, WY. From there he was stationed in Mingan, eastern Quebec, Canada at a weather station base; then at Hammond Air Field in Newfoundland. His last duty was in Memphis, TN, where he was discharged as Staff Sargent in 1952.
When he returned home, he worked for several years at Eastman Barnet company in West Newbury, manufacturing the wire parts for sealing acid bottles, and then for 3 years as an auto mechanic at a garage in St. Johnsbury. In 1959, he got a job at Miller Auto in White River Jct., and worked there as a mechanic for 29 years. His favorite part of working on vehicles was with transmissions. He found their intricacy and complexity to be very fascinating.
George lived quietly and peacefully. He loved being in the natural world, taking long walks in the woods in all seasons when he was younger. More recently, he enjoyed driving on the back roads and noticing the changes, from season to season and the changes over time. He enjoyed the Sunday afternoon visits from his nieces and nephews, walking in the woods with them, and teaching them all how to play chess. He was interested in listening to music from a young age when his mother and brother would practice on the piano and fiddle for the square dances. Later, he learned to love classical music. He enjoyed nature photography, observing the birds, and watching for animals. When he was younger, he did quite a lot of hunting, one year ordering parts from a gun smith and building his own high-powered .22. He and his brothers did all their own ammo-loading for many years, which he described as tricky sometimes, “but we were lucky”. He split all the wood for the farm house until he suffered a mild stroke at 91 years old.
George is survived by his partner, Aroline Putnam, sister Beatrice Putnam, 5 nieces and nephews, 13 grandnieces and nephews, 5 great-grandnieces and nephews, and several cousins. He was predeceased by his parents, Agnes Leighton Putnam and Ned Putnam, his older brothers Kenneth and Donald, and his older sister Ethel. A graveside service will be held at the Town House Cemetery on Scotch Hollow Rd in Newbury on August 7 at 2:00, to which all are invited. There will be no calling hours.