To Eleanor Ott of Maple Corner, bringing people together was as natural as breathing. As a teacher, writer, poet, artist and general instigator of shenanigans, she connected an ever-expanding universe of like-minded colleagues, soulmates, children, pets and spirits. Sitting in her breakfast nook with phone in hand, she networked, solved problems and wove the fabric of her numerous communities. She had more circles than the rings around Saturn.
Eleanor was a longtime member of the Scribblers, a circle of Central Vermont writers. “She was the mentor and elder who kept the group going,” wrote her friend Andy Christiansen. The group also helped Eleanor keep going. At the time of her death, on August 13, 2023, at home, Eleanor had been dealing with Parkinson’s disorder for decades. She was also the driving force behind the Runes Group, a circle of friends who researched Norse myths, celebrated the solstices and gathered for weekly feasts in Eleanor’s book-stuffed dining room. If a topic sparked an interest, she had a book on it — or 50.
From 1969 to 1985, she taught anthropology and folklore at Goddard College, where she was honored during a graduation for her teaching, advising, leading, innovating and committee chairing. “If we didn’t have an Eleanor Ott,” said the president, “we’d have to invent her.” Students recall her courses on William Blake, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and one called “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About a Stone Wall but Were Too Afraid to Ask.” After retirement, she mentored independent students keen on learning about shamanism, Viking runes or the meaning of North.
Eleanor Ann Kokar Ott was the daughter of Helen and Paul Forster. Born on August 20, 1936, she was raised in Bristol, Pa. Her brief marriage to Thomas Ott ended in divorce. After a BA in philosophy and literature at Wilson College and an MA in education at Harvard-Radcliffe, Eleanor received her PhD in anthropology and folklore from the University of Pennsylvania. Between colleges, she spent a year bicycling alone the length and breadth of Britain.
Eleanor was an avid birder, which could make driving with her terrifying. She’d pull over suddenly, whip out her field glasses, and exclaim, “Look! A Merlin!” while her passengers’ hearts thumped in fright. Birding sealed the bond with Nancy deGroff, an outdoor educator whom Eleanor met in graduate school in 1959. Together they traveled the British Isles and the U.S., following migration routes and congregations. Eleanor and Nancy brought students to their island in Maine to camp out, study the ecosystem and tell stories by the fire. Stones spoke to Eleanor. She collected them on all her travels.
Eleanor was involved with the Center for Shamanic Studies, was a longtime trustee of the Center for Northern Studies, helped to establish the Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury, and was involved with Foodworks, the former Vermont nonprofit.
Despite the limitations imposed by Parkinson’s, she never stopped dreaming, imagining and composing. “Spirit Beings,” her series of large-scale drawings, was displayed in several Central Vermont galleries in recent years. Heart-Work Trilogy: Three Books to Open Our Hearts was published in 2021, thanks to her editor and good friend Kathleen Osgood, who generously gathered Eleanor’s prose, poetry and drawings. As her friend Neville Berle wrote, “Eleanor had a gift for recognizing and nurturing the gifts of others.” He loved watching Eleanor shape-shift, “moving in a span of moments from teacher to mischievous child to shaman to ethnologist to den-mother to hawk-eyed sage.” She was a gatherer of souls, visible and invisible.
Eleanor always knew she was adopted. Her gnawing hunger to belong led her on a years-long search for her birth family, which was finally successful. She learned she was born Anne Kokar in New York City, during the Great Depression, to Ottilia Anna Kokar, an immigrant from Hungary. In 1995 she met her half-brother, Lou Cherry, and his wife, Arlene, who welcomed Eleanor into their family. Lou later lived with and cared for Eleanor for many years.
It is no small thing to see a friend through to the end of her days. That she was able to stay in her 1804 farmhouse was a gift. She relied the most on three dear friends: Monika Reis, her steady and constant friend of 30 years; Trees-ah Elder, who lived with Eleanor for five often challenging years, patiently caring for her day and night; and Susan Atwood, who tended Eleanor’s mind and heart.
Eleanor is also survived by Maija Rothenberg, her friend of 50 years; Maija’s daughters, Rowan Eleanor Balagot and Alana (Becca Louisell) Balagot, who were Eleanor’s godchildren; Monika’s daughters, Iris Sandusky and Evelyn Sandusky; her brother Lou’s family; and numerous friends. Eleanor was predeceased by her birth mother, her parents, her friend Nancy, and her brother Lou.
Eleanor Ott touched many people’s hearts, minds, and spirits. So quick was she with a comeback that conversations with her could feel like doing improv comedy. To many, she was the hearth around whom one gathered for warmth, wit and wisdom. That her bright blaze has gone out, at least on earth, is a source of great sorrow.
A memorial service will be planned for a later date. Memorial contributions may be made out to MCCC and mailed to Maple Corner Community Center, c/o Curtis Pond Association, PO Box 162, Calais, VT, 05648. Those wishing to extend condolences to Eleanor’s closest friends may reach them at PO Box 4, Calais, VT, 05648. Heart-Work Trilogy by Eleanor Ott is available at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library and Bear Pond Books.
This article appears in Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2023.
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