David Glendinning, 87, died peacefully on September 25, 2023, after a brave battle with pancreatic cancer.
David was born in Lawrence, Mass., on July 14, 1936, to parents Geoffrey and Eve Glendinning. He grew up in Andover, Mass., and attended Phillips Academy in Andover, then Dartmouth College, and graduated in 1958. He attended the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., and was ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1960. He married Priscilla Jackson in 1961 and raised three children in Southwest Harbor and Waterville, Maine. In 1982, he married his second wife, Dorothy, and they enjoyed 38 full and happy years together in Concord, N.H., Freeport, Maine, and Burlington, Vt., before her death in 2020.
David’s life work and greatest passion was as an Episcopal priest. He led parishes in Southwest Harbor, Maine; Waterville, Maine; and Concord, N.H.; and successfully shepherded St. Mark’s in Waterville and St. Paul’s in Concord through the building of two new churches. He served as the Chaplain at Colby College in Waterville during the 1970s and ‘80s. He was devoted to his parishioners and to the work of the church, and, on behalf of the Episcopal Church, he continued to visit UVM Medical Center patients until 2019.
David was an avid sailor, hunter and skier. He was a proud member of the race crew on the Hinckley sailboat, Night Train, and he later spent time he loved on his own boat, sailing the coast of Maine. He could often be found out bird hunting with his beloved black lab, Molly; skiing at Saddleback Mountain with his family; and camping in Baxter State Park.
David and Dorothy retired to a farm property in Freeport, Maine, where they owned and cared for as many as seven horses, and David used his master gardener status to design and tend a huge vegetable garden. In 2013, they moved to Burlington, Vt., to be closer to family and to spend summers at their camp on Lake Willoughby.
David was a lifelong lover and supporter of the arts and theatre. He was very active in community theatre, especially with the Freeport Players and the Portland Stage Company in Maine, both acting and — together with Dorothy — designing and building the sets. He was proud of his 12-year run as part of the ensemble for the Portland Stage Company’s annual production of The Christmas Carol. David and Dorothy, an artist herself, were also avid art collectors, especially of the work of well-known Maine and New Hampshire artists.
David was predeceased by his wife, Dorothy Glendinning. He leaves behind his daughters, Jennifer “Jeffy” Usher and husband, Jim, of Essex Vt., Deb Light and husband, John, of Burlington Vt.; a son, Matt Glendinning, and wife, Katherine, of New Haven, Conn.; stepson Rob Macklin of Jericho, Vt.; as well as grandchildren, Nicole Egan and husband, Gerard, Colby Hamilton, and Hannah Light and Maddie Light; and great-grandson, Desmond Egan. David is also survived by his sister, Amy Glendinning, of Andover, Mass., and her partner, Elaine Schofield; stepdaughter-in-law, Stephanie Macklin, of Framingham, Mass.; and step-granddaughters, Lilly and Sophie Macklin.
The family would like to thank the staff at the Residence at Quarry Hill for their exceptional care and support, especially in the final weeks leading to David’s death, and the compassionate team at UVM Home Health and Hospice for helping him through his final days. Donations in David’s honor can be made to Episcopal Relief and Development, an organization whose work he supported himself.
A funeral service is planned for David on Friday, October 20, at 4 p.m., at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, 2 Cherry St., Burlington, VT.
This article appears in Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2023.