George Richmond “Dick” Fearing of North Dartmouth, MA; formerly of Marion, MA; Stowe, VT; and Westwood, MA died peacefully at home Saturday, October 26, 2013. The cause was cancer.
He was born in Boston, MA in 1924 to George Richmond Fearing and Vera Whistler Howell. He lived in Austria from 1935 to 1939 and attended Le Rosey School in Switzerland. He also attended Fountain Valley School in Colorado.
He had a full life with many accomplishments. He served in the 503rd Military Police
Battalion of Patton’s Third Army in the European Theater in World War II and was awarded five battle stars. He participated in the Normandy Campaign, the Battle of the Bulge and other major engagements.
After the War, he moved to Vermont. He founded and ran the Hearthside Inn at Craftsbury Common, Craftsbury, and Tyrola Lodge in Stowe. He also founded and ran Stowe’s Topnotch Inn (now Topnotch Resort and Spa). He moved to Westwood, MA for a few years before returning to Stowe to found Tyrola Farm. There he raised award–winning, purebred Hampshire sheep. In 1957, one of his rams – Green Mountain Boy – was named Champion Hampshire Ram in Indianapolis, Indiana; Columbus, Ohio; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and at the Chicago International Fair in Illinois.
He was a ski instructor for Stowe school children and was past president of the Stowe Area Association. Throughout his life, he was known for his mechanical ingenuity and could fix virtually anything family and friends brought to him.
He had three children by a former marriage in 1947 to Nancy S. Clarke. In 1962, he married Barbara Bennett of Stowe. They had two children and moved to Marion, MA in 1968. He joined Burr Brothers Boats, Inc. in 1970 and served as Store Manager until he retired in March 2013.
While living in Marion and North Dartmouth, he taught safe boating from 1968 until 2009 for the U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary (USCGAUX) and the United States Power Squadrons. He served terms as a Flotilla Commander for the USCGAUX and a Squadron Commander for the U.S. Power Squadrons. He was a member of the Beverly Yacht Club in Marion for 44 years. After the death of his second wife from cancer, he married Irene P. Shea of Providence, RI in 2001.
He is survived by his wife Irene and his five children – daughter Nancy W. Passavant (Francis) of Newton, MA; son George R. Fearing, Jr. of Morrisville, VT; daughter Pamela F. Lokker of Phoenix, AZ; son Russell B. Fearing (Laurie) of Marion, MA and daughter Sarah H. Shanahan (Michael) of Wallingford, VT. Other survivors include three grandsons – Charles G. R., Daniel B. and Oliver T. Fearing all of Marion – two sisters, Gwendolen W. White of Newton, MA and Hesterly B. Buckley of Stowe, VT, and a brother, Travers Fearing of Medfield, MA.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, November 9 at St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church, 124 Front Street, Marion immediately followed by a reception at the Beverly Yacht Club, 99 Water Street.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in Dick’s memory to Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 or Community Nurse and Hospice Care, 62 Centre Street, Fairhaven, MA 02719 or St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church, P. O. Box 545, Marion, MA 02738. For directions and online guestbook, visit: www.ccgfuneralhome.com.