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1176 Main Street
Fairfax, VT 05454
Phone: 802-849-6261
Fax: 802-849-6262
Howard Van Dine
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Obituary for Howard Arthur Van Dine Jr.

Howard Arthur  Van Dine Jr.

Reverend Canon Howard Arthur Van Dine, Jr.

Reverend Canon Howard Arthur Van Dine, Jr. died on November 24, 2012 at his home in Georgia, Vermont. He went in peace and of simple old age. At the age of 92, he reminded his family regularly that he has lived a long and very full life and he was prepared to go when called. While an extended range of family and friends grieves for the loss of this wonderful man – he is well and at peace.

Howard was born on February 25, 1921 in Mineola, NY to Howard A. and Anna (Jansen) Van Dine. He grew up in various communities of New York (Clarenceville, Tappan, Pearl River, Richmond Hills), and graduated from Pearl River High School in 1939. In 1942 he enlisted in the U.S. Army and near the end of paratroop training was selected to be trained as a navigator in the Army Air Force (8th Air Force, 390th Bomb Group in Framlingham, England). He was commissioned 2nd Lt. USAAC in 1943 and flew a complete tour of duty from England and Italy over Europe.

He was on home leave when the war ended and he was separated from the Army in 1945. He matriculated at Bucknell University where he studied electrical engineering and was a member of Lambda Chi fraternity. It was at Bucknell where he met his wife of 46 years, Margaret Ardella Ryan (Bucknell ’46). He graduated in 1949 with a BSEE degree and accepted a job with General Electric which would last for 30 years. His job at GE would take the family to Burlington, VT where they resided for the next 35 years. Howard retired from management at General Electric in 1981. But that is only part of the story.

There is a family story told that Howard had a compulsion to study for the priesthood since high school. Family convinced him to put it off for 'practical reasons’ including military service in World War II and college, and the demands and needs of a family. However, those of us who know and love him also know the man had persistence. Once in Vermont he arranged to study privately for the Holy Order with the permission of the Bishop of Vermont. From 1956 to 1963 Howard studied under Reverend Donald Boyer as well as other examining chaplains. He was ordained Deacon by the Right Reverend Harvey Butterfield in June of 1963 and ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Butterfield in December of 1965, and began his long vocation as a non-stipendiary priest.
In the late 1960’s, his Bishop became interested in the idea of the "Worker-Priest" movement as having value for the church’s work in Vermont, a program in which Howard was a "natural." Howard continued his work at General Electric until he retired in 1981, while also providing missionary, interim and/or supply support throughout the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont. His assignments included: assistant at the Cathedral from 1963 to ‘71; Priest in Charge at Calvary Church, Underhill from 1971 to ‘74; Canon of the Cathedral Church of St Paul’s from 1974 to ‘81; Canon to the Ordinary for the Right Reverend Robert S. Kerr from 1977 to ’87; Rector at St Paul’s Church, Vergennes from 1981 – ‘89. While Canon to the Ordinary, he co-ordinated the companion diocesan relationship with the Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church in Portugal (a member church of the Anglican Communion) where he was named honorary canon for St. Paul’s Cathedral, Lisbon.
He ‘retired’ from the Diocese of Vermont and from St Paul’s, Vergennes in 1989. However, retirement for Howard was not equivalent to slowing down or ceasing his service. From 1991 to ’94 he served as interim priest for St. Andrew’s Church in St. Johnsbury; from 1994 to’97 he served as interim priest for St. Paul’s Church in Windsor; and from 1997 to 2000 he served as Priest in Charge at St Thomas’s Church in Winn, Maine.
Howard was not a man who showed his pride – however he would ‘boast’ that he had officiated at all of the congregations in the state of Vermont as well as a few in NY and Maine. He also took pride in the fact that he was always ready to serve his Bishop. Many will remember him as the man who officiated at an important event in their lives-- a marriage, a baptism, a funeral or simply spiritual guidance.
Following the death of his wife Margaret in 1994 he became reacquainted with Janice Hosley Peck. They married in 1995, and following his work in Windsor and Winn, Howard and Janice returned to Georgia, VT and to the Sizen family farm where they have spent the last 12 years. During his time home in Vermont, Howard continued to officiate at services when possible and supply services at several congregations. From 2001 to ‘05 he taught religion classes at the Northwest Correctional Facility in St. Albans. He also undertook a Masters and Doctor of Ministry program, and received his M.Div. and his D.Min., with his thesis published in 2008.
Throughout his long and full life he also found time to obedience train his collies (and to tolerate the family Newfoundland), to work with the VT Army National Guard, to perform the role of military outreach chaplain to soldiers home on leave or being drafted, to sail Lake Champlain, to create culinary concoctions, to sing in the GE Glee Club, to volunteer as a blacksmith at the Shelburne Museum, to study Portuguese, to photograph and paint his surroundings, to travel, to walk the woods of Vermont and to respond to his world by writing poetry and short stories. In all his activities, Howard kept his focus on the people he met, working to find a way for each to feel successful and necessary.
Howard was predeceased by his wife of 46 years, Margaret Ardella Ryan Van Dine; his parents Howard A. and Anna Jansen Van Dine; his sister Virginia Van Dine Nonnenmacher; and his brother Donald Van Dine.
Howard will be sorely missed by those he leaves behind including:
His four children and their families: Kristin Van Dine and daughter Juliet Stevenson of Newburyport, MA; Howard and Aileen Trainer Van Dine and daughter Alexandra of Columbia SC; Katrina Van Dine of New Haven, VT; and Pieter and Catherine Van Dine of Mystic, CT.
His brother Kenneth Van Dine and his family, as well as the family of his sister Virginia.
His wife of 18 years, Janice Hosley Peck Van Dine and her family, Matthew and Serena Peck and children Amanda and Joshua; Nancy (Peck) and Stephen Cook and son Schuyler Capozzoli; Laura (Peck) and Daren Sizen and children Rebecca, Paige and Mark; Christopher Peck and his partner Stacey Davis and children Christopher, Chester and Kimberly.
A celebration of this man’s life will be held at St Luke’s Episcopal Church in St Albans, VT on December 8, at 1:00 PM. Following the Memorial Service will be a reception at the rectory on Congress Street and all are welcome to attend.
We ask that in lieu of flowers, you consider the man you knew, and say thank you if he has touched your heart. We are told that when a member of the clergy is buried he is laid to rest head first so he can see his parishioners. While Howard is cremated we are pretty sure that he is still watching all of us whom he has loved and shepherded.

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