Arnold Livingston (10/22/50–7/14/12)
Arnold Livingston of Warren, son of the late Melvin and Pauline Kirchheim Livingston, passed away as the result of an automobile accident on Saturday, July 14, 2012.
Arnold was born in Troy, New York, on October 22, 1950. He graduated from Geneva (NY) High School in 1968 and attended Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York. While he spent years as a New Yorker, he felt more of a connection to the Green Mountain State and particularly to the Mad River Valley, which has been home to generations of the Livingston family. Arnold was an avid outdoorsman who appreciated the area’s natural beauty, and he knew the Long Trail and local woods, mills, camps and brooks since he was a boy.
Arnold began work in The Valley, as many do, in the carpentry and ski business, working for the Garmont ski boot company. After taking over his Uncle Ernest Ralph’s property in Warren, Arnold quickly established himself in the area’s emerging restaurant circuit, working as a bartender and a host in restaurants such as The Common Man and The Phoenix. Many knew him as the “Host of The Valley” and he was known for his gregarious good humor.
In his later years, Arnold was perhaps best known for his work as a maple sugarer, and he owned and operated a tree-tapping and sugarhouse on his property. He was known for giving tours and demonstrations of sugaring to visiting tourists and locals, and he was especially fond of showing young children the art and skill of the sugaring craft. Many of these children still remember Arnold’s sugarhouse and all that he shared and taught them.
Arnold also loved dogs, and he devoted much of his life to caring for them. He didn’t just take care of his own dog—and best buddy—“Sparky,” but all dogs. Livingston served as the Warren Dog Warden, because he learned from his father that “all animals have a right to live,” his sister Carol Twentyfive said, adding that in her house she tells guests that if they are afraid of spiders they should use the upstairs bathroom because a spider is living in her downstairs bathroom.
Arnold was predeceased by his brother, Bob, who passed away in 1972. He is survived by his sister, Carol Twentyfive, and her husband, Lenny Jackson; his beloved nephew John A. Twentyfive III; his niece, Sharon Strong; and his “other family,” the Johnsons. He will remain in the hearts of his longtime friends, JR and Janice Vogini, and special second cousin, Billy McShane, who visited Arnold frequently. And while “Sparky” will miss hiking the Long Trail with his favorite traveling companion, he has found a new home with Carol Twentyfive.
There will be a celebration of Arnold’s life at the American Flatbread Pavilion on The Lareau Farm from noon to 3 p.m. on Friday, July 20. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Central Vermont Humane Society, P.O. Box 687, Montpelier, VT 05601 (802) 476-3811, www.cvhumane.com.
To send online condolences visit www.perkinsparker.com and Facebook. Assisting the family is the Perkins-Parker Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Waterbury.
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