Douglas Tudhope died peacefully at his home in North Hero, Vt., on October 8, 2022. Doug was born on March 7, 1927, to Katherine Branch Tudhope and Ira Tudhope. He attended Burlington High School and graduated in 1945, at which time he joined the U.S. Navy as an underwater demolitionist, or “Frogman.” Doug then attended the University of Vermont where he was a member of the Sigma Phi fraternity, and he graduated with a history degree in 1950. As teenagers, Doug and Netta “Billie” Engel met at a town hall dance, and it wasn’t long before they married in 1951. The two were together for 69 years and had three daughters: Sandra, Jane, and Mary.
Doug graduated with a master’s degree in teaching in 1968 and was an incredibly devoted educator. He taught at Richford High School, where he coached men and women’s baseball, as well as women’s basketball. Doug would go on to teach history at Shelburne High School and South Burlington High School and was president of the Vermont Education Association from 1971 to 1972. He was appointed to the State Board of Education in 1987 by Governor Madeleine Kunin and was the founding president of the North Hero Educational Foundation. Doug also founded the Public Issues and World Affairs course at South Burlington High School, a course that remains to this day.
Doug was also a seasoned businessman and politician. In 1958, he founded the Tudhope Marine Company and later expanded to include Tudhope Sailing Center. In 1980, he became president of the Tudhope/White Real Estate Partnership, formed to purchase Shore Acres Inn & Restaurant, next door to his home. He was also on the board of directors for the Franklin Lamoille Bank.
Doug’s contributions to government were innumerable. He served three terms in the Vermont House of Representatives, and for six years of that time, he was on the Appropriations Committee. He was president of the Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the board of selectmen in North Hero. Doug was also president of the Vermont Humanities Organization and ran for Lieutenant Governor in 1976.
It cannot be overstated how much Doug gave to the community of North Hero. For 13 years, he was moderator on the select board of the North Hero Town Government, a title he was justly proud of. Doug was a figurehead in the restoration of both the North Hero United Methodist Church and its accompanying parsonage. He was chairman of the First Committee, which worked to restore and preserve North Hero’s community hall. Doug was chair of capital fundraising for the Island Arts Center and was given the title of honorary director.
Doug’s accomplishments speak for themselves, but his legacy doesn’t end there. Doug’s family and friends fondly remember him as a generous, kind and loving person. He had a great sense of humor and loved to make people laugh. Doug was also an avid golfer and bridge player — and fiercely competitive at both!
Doug is survived by his sister, Janet; his daughter, Mary; his grandchildren, Ben Shearer, Dan Shearer, Courtney Shearer, Sarah Bowley and Peter Bowley; and his great-grandchildren, Amelia, Henry, Valerie and Charlie. A private family gathering is being held in Doug’s honor, but another service open to the public may be happening next summer. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Island Arts Center, an organization that Doug was proud to be a part of. Donations can be sent to Island Arts, 1127 U.S. Rte. 2, P.O. Box 108, North Hero, VT, 05474, or online through islandarts.org.
This article appears in The Tech Issue 2022.
I am so sorry to hear of Doug’s passing.. I have known Doug my whole life but due to age and geographical differences did not see him often. However, I enjoyed my visits with him and remember his wit and wisdom. For example he recently told me that we no longer had to worry about “early onset Alzheimer’s disease.”( He was 93 and I 78.) On another occasion I told him I was sorry about a problem he had and he said; “No-one gets a perfect trip.” I will miss visiting with him and I am so sorry for your loss. Carole Tudhope Gilbert
I am so very sorry to hear of Doug’s passing. He and Billie were dear friends of my parents, Bill and Anne Towle, a friendship formed when they all lived in Richford. Doug and Billie were wonderful people, and the world is less without them. Betsy Towle Brightman
I will always cherish my memories of Doug. He was a dear friend and neighbor and a dedicated and creative public servant. How lucky I was to be a town auditor while Doug was a selectman! My heart goes out to his Shore Acres family, Mike and Susan Tranby and their children, Majken and Paul, who kept the Inn and Restaurant (that we all knew and loved) humming for so many years. The Tranby family took extra care to make sure Doug and Billie were always in good hands. I also extend my heartfelt sympathy to his devoted caregivers and especially Audrey Lambert, for tending so lovingly to Doug these last few years. I learned a lot from Doug, who was the consummate educator, but two lessons jump to the top of that list. Treasure your time, and if you want a meat lover’s pizza, go for it!
A life well lived! Doug was an inspiration to all, myself included. Brotherhood never ends, and you wouldn’t understand the level of mentoring and position of great esteem he held with his Sigma Phi brothers, those of his generation and the many younger brothers who followed him through the decades. Never forget the brother!
I think back of the many roles he’s held in his life: husband and father, Navy frogman, educator, businessman, boater, sportsman, fraternity brother, entrepreneur, philanthropist, art enthusiast, caretaker of history, trustee, politician; and then particular to my family, mentor, hunter, bridge player, cribbage guru, friend.
Doug and my Dad were best friends through the decades, first meeting on the steps of Sigma Phi fraternity after WWII. While deer hunting brought them together every fall, the rifles were never far from the card table; cribbage and bridge games were truly the main event. Doug handcrafted a cribbage board as a gift to my Dad. I now have that board as a treasure to both men. Doug’s work, circa 1956, inscribed: “The blemish on this board is by no means a freak of production. It was placed there purposefully by nature to remind you of the imperfections in your game and that the master of this game is someone other than yourself. Let the scar on the face of this board also remind you that Richford, Vermont is the cribbage capital of the world and that Burlington and Derby Line have and always will produce inferior cribbage characters.”
I shall miss “Uncle” Doug dearly. He’d always ask first, “How’s the family doing?” but quickly follow up with “What’s going on at the Sig House?”. He’s been in my life since my earliest breaths, and truly a better man could not be found.
It is always distressing to hear from a friend that a friend, unseen for some time, has departed. Yet, while it was sad to her of Billie’s death last year and now Doug’s it was heartening to know that they had such a long life together. In my younger days I had an opportunity to work with both of them in several different roles and I learned from both of them in their own way. I remember Doug’s fine sense of humor and viewpoints on life in rural Vermont, as well as his ability to tackle the tougher problems in Montpelier with determination and grit. His focus was frequently striving to improve the lives of his fellow Vermonters. Clark Bensen