Douglas E. Chiappetta Jr., 55, passed away on Thursday, October 26, 2006, at home in Moretown.
He was born on May 24, 1951, in Toledo, Ohio, the son of Ed and Martha Chiappetta. He spent his youth in Greenwich, Connecticut, graduating from Greenwich High School in 1969. He earned a B.S. in English/secondary education from the University of Connecticut in 1973 and a M.Ed. in educational administration from the University of Vermont in 1975.
Doug married Sue Schirmer in Greenwich on July 5, 1975. He was a teacher of English at Harwood Union High School in Duxbury from 1974 to 1981. He then spent two years as an assistant headmaster at The Steward School in Richmond, Virginia. In 1983, Doug and Sue moved back to Vermont and Doug returned to Harwood in special education. In 1988, he joined the Vermont Department of Education as a school improvement coordinator and over the next 15 years his responsibilities grew to include oversight of school construction, licensing, independent schools and home schooling. He retired in 2002 as director of educator and school quality.
Doug will be remembered for his kind nature and as a person who would rather listen than speak. He was known for his passion for golf and for his classic and smooth golf swing. He was proud to have qualified for the Vermont amateur golf championship a number of times, including one of the early years of his illness. He also enjoyed the simple pleasures of playing the guitar, cooking and spending time with family and friends.
Doug is survived by his wife, Sue Chiappetta of Moretown; his mother, Martha Chiappetta of Homestead, FL; his father, Ed Chiappetta of Clearwater, FL; his sister, Sue Ann Sabanski, and her husband Rich of Homestead, FL, and their family; and his sister, Nancy Haas, and her husband Buster of Guilford, CT, and their family. Doug is also survived by his mother-in-law, Beatrice Schirmer of Northfield, VT; his sister- and brother-in-law, Lynn and Gary Kingsbury of Waitsfield, VT, and their family; and his brother- and sister-in-law, Tad and Ginnie Schirmer of Lagos, Nigeria, and Waitsfield, VT, and their family. He was predeceased by his father-in-law Howard Schirmer.
The family would like to thank the doctors, nurses and staff of Mountainview Medical in Berlin for providing Doug and Sue with excellent care and support for the past four years.
A celebration of Doug's life and a reception will be held at The Round Barn Farm, 1661 East Warren Road, Waitsfield, on Saturday, November 11, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, Doug requested that consideration be given to a donation to the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich, P.O. Box 4718, Greenwich, CT 06830 or to Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice, 600 Granger Road, Barre, VT 05641. To send on-line condolences, please visit www.perkinsparker.com. Arrangements are in the care of Perkins-Parker Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Waterbury, VT.
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