Elizabeth Kittel
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Elizabeth Buchan Kittel, age 88, was born on November 6, 1933 to Jim and Elizabeth Elrick, in West Orange, New Jersey and died at Gifford Medical Center in Randolph, on May 17, 2022.
Beth's family moved to South Royalton, Vermont when she was 6 years old where her parents operated Elrick's IGA grocery store on the green from 1940 - 1956.
Beth was valedictorian of South Royalton's Class of 1951. She graduated from the University of Vermont in 1955 with a major in English. She taught for one year in Plainfield, Vermont. Later, she would return to UVM to earn her master's degree in reading instruction.
She married her college sweetheart, Joe Kittel, in South Royalton in 1956 and they lived in a variety of locations in New York, Vermont, and Pennsylvania, finally settling in Randolph in 1965 when Joe took a teaching position at VTC.
Beth was a Title One/Chapter One reading supervisor for Randolph, Brookfield and Braintree schools for many years before retiring in 1991.
She was a longtime volunteer in the radiology department at Gifford Medical Center, working from her retirement until the pandemic began in 2020. She was also a member of Bethany Church in Randolph and served them in various capacities.
Beth loved to read and travel and kept wonderful scrapbooks of family adventures. Rumor has it that there is a piece of toilet paper stamped "property of the Queen" from Windsor Castle in one of her scrapbooks.
She enjoyed hosting friends, family gatherings and the crowd that showed up for the 4th of July parade. She was the neighborhood "mom" for many children and that extended to several foreign exchange students, Barbara from Germany and "mom assistant" to Isabel from Portugal.
She is survived by her husband, Joe, her three children: Marie Kittel of Randolph, VT Melanie (Ken) Haberl of Van Buren, MO and Paul Kittel of York, ME. She has two grandchildren, David Haberl of Rochester, VT and Denise (Jonathon) Eagan of Olathe, KS, one great-grandchild Otto Alexander Eagan, sisters-in-law Phyllis Tate and Lee Elrick Gerber, nieces, nephews, and Scottish cousins. She was predeceased by her parents and brother, David Elrick.
There will be no calling hours. A memorial service is being planned for a later date. Contributions in her memory may be made to Bethany United Church, http://www.bethanyuccvt.org/giving/. Arrangements are by the Day Funeral Home.