Claire Duke

BARRE TOWN – Claire Duke, 88, a life-long resident, passed away on Tuesday, December 26, 2023, at the McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester with her family at her side.

Born on September 22, 1935, she was the daughter of Alex and Margaret (Leclerc) Laferriere and lived all her life in Barre, a community she loved, graduating from Spaulding High School in the class of 1953.

Her goal was to become a teacher, but that was not to be, though in her many years of selling real estate, she concluded that she had, in fact, become a teacher.

Claire was a creative sort and described by her father as “determined.”  She was active in many worthwhile causes, among them starting a League of Women Voters in Barre that, in the end, she said had served “as her college.”  During the economic downturn of the 90’s she co-founded the “Good Morning Barre” group with Carroll Nelson and John Nicholls, a group of Main Street merchants with the goal of assisting each other and the downtown in tough times. While president of the Vermont Federation of Republican Women she created the widely successful “Lincoln Day Spoof Awards,” a luncheon during which numerous, outlandish prizes were awarded Vermont legislators in keeping with the issues of the day. At one point in her life, she served as chair of the fundraising Realtor Political Action Committee, a position that came about as a result of her refusing to serve as secretary of the otherwise all-male committee. Consequently, that year the committee raised a new, all-time high in contributions.

After serving as campaign manager for Stewart Ledbetter’s 1980 U.S. Senate campaign, she started Berg, Carmolli & Kent Real Estate at the invitation of James Mulligan then president of Berg, Carmolli & Kent, Inc, a local respected, insurance company. She loved the multi-tasking and challenging business of real estate and was a broker for 37 years, retiring at age 82. In 2002, she and her husband, David, sold the business and she continued selling from their home (Claire Duke Real Estate) with her best friend whom she sometimes referred to as her “ever-suffering husband”, a title to which he readily agrees. She was known in the real estate business as a person of honesty and ethics.

Her strong belief that citizens have responsibilities toward their community led to numerous civic activities, among them chair of the committee that wrote the Barre Town Charter of 1975. Claire also served on the Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women for many years and as a community member of the Central Vermont Medical Center, among others. She was a long-time member of the Barre Town Planning Commission and a 30-year member of the Barre Rotary.

At points along the way, she was named Vermont Realtor of the Year; was recipient of the Barre Town “Wendell F. Pelkey Citizenship and Public Service Award;” and was recognized by a Joint Service Club’s Community Recognition Award for her efforts to pick up trash downtown every Thursday evening in the summertime, a Rotary project that lasted six years.

Despite not having earned her college degree, Claire became an award-winning civic leader, a successful entrepreneur and a notable force in Vermont and national politics, meeting with six sitting United States presidents during her career and working as an early champion of equal pay for women. Her tireless work in Vermont and national politics is recognized in fourteen volumes in the Library of Congress and her contributions were celebrated officially by the Vermont Legislature in 1980. In May of this year, Northern Vermont University (since renamed Vermont State University) awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in recognition of her life’s work and many personal and professional accomplishments. Thus, Dr. Claire officially earned the college degree she had so passionately desired in her youth.

If she could have the last say in death (and she would have wanted to) she would say as she did many times in life: “Life is a learning experience – it’s when you don’t learn that it is a mistake.”  She believed that we never know the true burdens and misfortunes that others carry.

In 2021, Claire answered the question “What gives you peace of mind?”: A clear conscience. Trump no longer president. Family members and friends not suffering. Having forgiven oneself for life’s stumbles. It seems to me that life’s greatest pleasure is having people to love. And if that love is returned, life is maximized by millions.

She is survived by her love and best friend, David, her husband of 65 years. She used to explain that he was the only man for whom she ever broke a date with the girls. She is survived by the loves of her heart – their six children plus one: sons Doug of Barre VT and his partner, Laura Welcome; Brian of Canton, GA and his wife, Kathy; Gary of Mt. Rainier, MD and his husband, Mike Fila; and, Kenneth of Seattle, WA and his wife Tina. Also, daughters Ellen Richards of Franklin, VT and her husband Jeff; and Sue Duke of Hinesburg, VT and her partner Judy Beaulac. Surviving also is a special friend, Sheila Grisard of Salt Lake City, UT and her husband, Richard. She was known as a “no nonsense” grandmother to Jordan, Jesse, Tanner and Tracen Duke, Jessica Vest, Josh Richards and Emily Richards. Also, great-grandmother to Jasmine and Spencer Sayah; Oliver and Maximus Vest; and Zayn Duke. Surviving also are her brother Leo Laferriere of Waitsfield, VT and his wife, Elizabeth; nieces Meg Horrocks of Rutland, VT and her husband Tom; and, Lynn Madigan of Warner, NH and her husband Kyle. Also, her sister Lorraine D’Amico of St. Albans, VT; nephew Jonathan D’Amico of St. Albans, VT; and niece Sister Marie Amata of Lincoln, NE.

While flowers are welcome, the family suggests memorial donations be made to the Lyndon Scholarship fund at Vermont State University (vermontstate.edu/alumni/giving-to-vermont-state). An additional way to honor her is -- if you see a piece of litter, please pick it up.

A Mass of Christian Burial to honor and celebrate her life will be held on Saturday, January 6, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. in the St. Monica Catholic Church, 79 Summer Street, Barre. Family and friends may call on Thursday, January 4, 2024, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Hooker Whitcomb Funeral Home, 7 Academy Street, Barre. Cards may be mailed to PO Box 545, Barre, VT  05641.