Polly Bosworth Whitcomb McEwing passed away peacefully on May 13, 2026, with her husband, Bob, at her side.
Polly was born at home in Bristol, Vt., on December 12, 1936, the daughter of Bernard and Pauline Sullivan Bosworth. She attended Burlington public schools and went on to graduate as an RN from the Mary Fletcher School of Nursing, becoming a surgical nurse.
Polly and Ed Whitcomb eloped in 1958, and she became an integral part of the Whitcomb Farm, capably taking on everything from the farm bookkeeping to driving a silage truck. In the days before public kindergarten, she ran a private kindergarten from her home.
Polly served as the first agricultural director for the Vermont Land Trust, providing the perspective of both a dairy farmer and a detail-oriented accountant. She was inducted into the Vermont Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2023.
Polly was a dedicated volunteer with the Red Cross, the Vermont Girl Scout Council and the Essex Junction Conservation Commission. She served as a founding board member of the Discovery Museum and was a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. It wasn’t unusual to have an injured owl resting in the family Christmas tree or baby raccoons bottle-fed in the back kitchen.
For nearly 20 summers Polly ran the Champlain Valley Fair’s Dairy Center, and if you knew her, odds are she recruited you to scoop ice cream and make milkshakes.
Ed predeceased Polly in 2000, and the following summer she began a new chapter in her life when she reconnected with Bob McEwing at the information booth at the Champlain Valley Fair. They were married at the fair a year later on opening day.
Polly was an adventurous traveler, first across the country with Ed in their motor home and later around the world with Bob. Together she and Bob traveled extensively in Europe, particularly Scotland, Germany, France and Switzerland, and in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. They also enjoyed vacations in Jamaica, Mexico and throughout much of Canada and cruises throughout the Caribbean. One of her latest travel adventures was a trip to India for a grandson’s wedding in 2022, circumnavigating the globe.
Polly will be remembered as a loving and supportive parent and as a grandparent who embraced whatever the next generations were interested in. She was a firm believer in the importance of education and the value of family, and she was a tireless supporter of Vermont agriculture.
Polly is survived by her husband, Robert McEwing; children, Onan (Mary) Whitcomb, Lorenzo (Marybeth) Whitcomb and Margaret (Craig) Armstrong; brother, Kirk Bosworth; sister, Gael Stein; grandchildren, Jessica Cook, Rebecca Allen, Benjamin Whitcomb, Zebulon Armstrong, Robyn Butler, Elizabeth Armstrong, Eli Armstrong, Cale Whitcomb, Max Whitcomb, Dane Whitcomb, Robyn and Travis Kendrew, Angus, Mackenzie, Mason, Airdin, Kevin, Rebecca, and Daniel. She is also survived by 11 great-grandchildren: Caroline and Tom Allen; Edward and Memphis Whitcomb; Andrew and Alex Cook; Sienna, Aiden, Syphera and Kia Butler; and Evangeline Armstrong. She is also survived by her stepdaughters, Sarah McEwing, Heather (Derrick) Kendrew and Susan (Tom) Kelly; stepson, Andrew (Karen) McEwing; and numerous nieces and nephews.
A celebration of Polly’s life will be held on June 3, 2026, 4 p.m., in the Blue Ribbon Pavilion Building at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction. Family burial will take place the following day. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made the Stern Center for Language and Learning, 183 Talcott Rd., Williston, VT 05495, or to University of Vermont Home Health & Hospice, 1110 Prim Rd., Colchester, VT 05446. Please visit awrfh.com to share your memories and condolences.