Juliet Phillips Paddock Van Dorn

Juliet Phillips Paddock Van Dorn, 86, of Sterling Springs, White River Junction, VT, died at the Jack Byrne Center for Palliative and Hospice Care of the Dartmouth- Hitchcock Medical Center, in Lebanon, NH, on the morning of Thursday, May 3, 2018.

Julie was born June 13, 1931, in Orange, NJ. Her parents were Arthur H. Paddock and Helen Rochelle Paddock. Julie grew up in Maplewood, NJ, attending Jefferson School and Maplewood Junior High School, and she graduated from Columbia High School. She attended and graduated from Bradford Junior College and particularly enjoyed that time and experience. Later she obtained a BA degree in education at Wheelock College in Boston. She did graduate work at the Harvard University School of Education. And it might be said that she was self-educating her entire life.

Julie taught first grade in the public schools of Millburn, NJ, and Weston, MA. Later on she returned to teaching at the Pingry School in New Jersey.

August 3, 1957, Julie married Daniel K. Van Dorn whom she had known in Maplewood. They have three children, Margaret, Deborah, and Daniel whom Julie adored and of whom she was very proud. She was fond of and enjoyed the company of their husbands and wife, Tim Pillsbury, Mike Josselyn, and Jessica Titus.

Her consummate joy was a visit by one of her eleven grandchildren, Catherine, Timothy, Christopher, Andrew, Elisabeth, Marie, Kevin, Gretchen, Michael, Brynn, and Emmy. Julie and Dan cherished and nourished a loving marriage for sixty years.

Julie was predeceased by her brother, Arthur W. Paddock, of Pittsfield, MA.

Julie loved flowers and plants and her garden and all growing things. From mystery to biography to history to current events Julie’s appetite for reading was limitless. She also savored good conversation. Almost everything that she became engaged in was tempered with her keen sense of humor. Julie highly valued a circle of great, longtime, loyal, supportive friends, with whom she maintained quite close contact.

Julie was never happier than when walking along Harding’s Beach at Chatham, Cape Cod, watching our children having fun in the Bay. That was the summer destination of our family for many years. Companions on those summer vacations were our two cats, Butterscotch and Mousenik, favorites of Julie, who were a vital part of our family for more than twenty years.

The New York Botanical Garden was a longtime interest of Julie’s. She derived much satisfaction from the exceptional courses she took there, receiving, among other recognitions, the Garden’s Certificate of Landscape Design. She used to make the drive into the Bronx from New Jersey, often with a good friend.

After living her adult life in New Jersey, Julie has been a Vermont resident the last thirteen years. It was a good choice for her for retirement, loving being close to her children and grandchildren and enjoying the extraordinary friendship of our Dartmouth friends and the members and ministry of our Norwich Congregational Church.

The family acknowledges and expresses gratitude for the superb care accorded Julie at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and the Jack Byrne Center.

Donations may be made in Julie’s memory to the Vermont Food Bank, 33 Parker Road, Barre, VT 05641.

A Memorial Service will be held at the Norwich Congregational Church, Norwich, Vermont, on Monday, May 14, 2018, 1:00 PM, reception to follow.
Condolences to Julie’s family may be made in an online guestbook at www.knightfuneralhomes.com