Lionel Joseph "LJ" Palardy, 73, of Winooski, VT, passed away on Tuesday, December 16, 2014, at the Vermont Respite House in Williston, VT, after a nine-year campaign with cancer. Born August 19, 1941, in Putnam, CT, to Leo and Rita Palardy, LJ spent his youth in Albany, GA, before entering the U.S. Air Force in 1959.
Honorably discharged in 1963, he moved to New York City where he worked at numerous watering holes including the Gordian Knot while honing his love for jazz. The summer of 1967 brought LJ to Burlington, VT, then to Waitsfield and Warren, VT, to raise his children, Michele and Douglas.
During the 1970s and 1980s, LJ made his mark on the Mad River Valley with various stints at establishments that included Gallagher's, Mehuron's, China Barn, Van Loon Construction, Blue Tooth, The Den, Beggar's Banquet, WCVR, Fayston Iron & Steel, Mad River Transit, among others. He became legendary for his elaborate Chinese dinners which he hosted into the early morning hours of many memorable nights at his residence on Roxbury Mountain Road.
LJ returned to Burlington in 1989 where he began decades of volunteer assignments for Burlington Jazz Festival, WWPV, 105.9 The Radiator, Lawrence Debate Union as well as jazz director and head curmudgeon at UVM's WRUV. Each Sunday morning for over 20 years, LJ's Dream radio show was the culmination of countless hours, weeks and years of listening, researching and discovering jazz that he shared with the Burlington community and beyond.
He will be remembered as an avid reader of The Boston Globe, for his love of model trains and his pride for being "a fountain of useless information." He is a 1996 graduate of Community College of Vermont and a 1999 graduate of the University of Vermont.
He is survived by his daughter, Michele Palardy and partner Kelly Behan of Winooski, VT; his son, Douglas and husband Daniel Innis of Portsmouth, NH; sister, Janet Haviland of Albany, GA; brothers, Dennis of Southside, AL, David of Albany, GA, and Michael of Mount Joy, PA. In lieu of flowers, LJ has requested letters of stories, debates and altercations with him be mailed to his children, Michele and Douglas Palardy, at 81 Hood Street #A, Winooski, VT 05404.
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