Dorothy Jean Drewes Davies, known as “Bunty” to friends and family, died on Monday, December 2, 2024, after sustaining a fall on Thanksgiving Day. She was peaceful and surrounded by her husband and three daughters at the McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester, Vt., a place whose mission she admired and where she received excellent care in her last days.
Born on July 7, 1937, in Bronxville, N.Y., she was the beloved only child of Wallace John Drewes and Dorothy Elsie Seiffert Drewes. She was born prematurely and spent her first several weeks of life in the hospital. The nurses called her “little baby Bunting” — an old English term of endearment — and this was transformed into Bunty, becoming her lifelong nickname. She had an infectious, distinctive laugh; was cheerful and outgoing; and never passed up an opportunity for conversation. She kept in touch through handwritten letters, phone calls and personal visits, eschewing email, computers and social media. She loved Lake George, the Adirondacks and all things Italy, musical and beautiful. She had an excellent eye and enjoyed collecting unique and lovely items throughout her life.
Bunty passed on her lifelong love of Lake George to her children and grandchildren, bringing them back to the family house each summer and supporting the next generations in developing their own wonderful experiences. She grew up in a very musical household, attending Broadway shows with her parents and developing an enduring appreciation for opera. Her father was an accomplished pianist, and she remembered sitting with him on the piano bench and learning from him as he played after dinner each night. An avid ballet dancer, swimmer and ice skater, she graduated from A.B. Davis High School in 1955, where she was a cheerleader and part of an experimental education program in advanced music theory education, fueling her lifelong appreciation of music. She attended SUNY Plattsburgh and studied elementary school education, working at the Ausable Club as a waitress during the summers. A highlight of her college experience was spending the summer of 1958 in Italy living with a family in Biella through the Experiment in International Living, a Putney, Vt.-based organization for experiential cross-cultural learning. She graduated in 1959 as editor of the yearbook and then taught third grade in Rye, N.Y.
She met her future husband, Hubert Davies Jr., at a party at the home of her friend Carolyn Davies. She recalled how tall and handsome he was and that he had a great car, a Triumph TR3. They married on a rainy winter day in January 1961, and she always joked in her self-deprecating way as she looked at her beautiful formal wedding portrait that “I didn’t know anything!” but she was clearly a quick study. She and Hubie successfully and enthusiastically raised three daughters, of whom she was very proud. She worked and volunteered extensively in the Shelburne schools, for Lilliput Theatre and, from the 1960s until the pandemic, at the First Congregational Church of Burlington. She served extensively but most notably in the Austin Handbell Choir, Coterie and at the Possibility Shop. She was a 45-year member of PEO and enjoyed staying active playing golf and tennis and downhill skiing. Bunty particularly enjoyed figure skating, and while a member of the Champlain Valley Skating Club she pursued judging and ice dancing credentials through the USFSA.
After getting her girls “launched,” she traveled extensively with friends or with husband Hu. Highlights included an art teachers’ exchange trip to Russia and Kazakhstan and travels with Hu and friends to several European countries. She and Hu also wintered for many years in Venice, Florida and Arizona, visiting Hubie’s brother Don. They took these opportunities to travel around the Pacific Coast and the West by car. Throughout, she gathered beautiful books, objects, maps and other items that decorated and filled their home.
Bunty is survived by her husband, Hubert Davies Jr., and daughters, Jayne (Joseph Tessitore) of Essex Junction, Vt.; Julia (Gregg Yedwab) of St. Charles, Ill., and Ocala, Fla.; and Louise (Matt Golec) of Enfield, N.H. She particularly enjoyed her grandchildren, Martha (Dominic Figueroa) of Malta, N.Y.; Sara (Ryan Volkmann) of Queensbury, N.Y.; Suzanne of St. Charles, Ill.; and William of Enfield, N.H. Her great-grandchildren, Lorenzo, Gabriella and Payton, brought joy to her days through photos and visits. Bunty will be greatly missed by her numerous cousins and extended family.
If you are inspired to honor Bunty’s infectious laugh and love of people and all things beautiful, please consider a donation to the Lake George Association in her name or write a letter or gift a beautiful object to a treasured friend. Services are planned for spring 2025. Corbin and Palmer is in charge of arrangements.
This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2024.