Obituary: Georgette L. Thabault, 1953-2021 

• Courtesy Photo
• Georgette Thabault

Georgette Louise Thabault, 68, of Essex, Vt., died peacefully on Sunday, May 23, 2021, at the McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester after a courageous battle with cancer.

Georgette was born on February 18, 1953, the fourth of nine children to Dr. Wilfrid and Mrs. Doris Thabault, in Japan, where the family was living while Dr. Thabault served there in the United States Air Force. The family moved back to Vermont in 1955.

Georgie was a woman of many talents and lived a life of adventure. She was colorful, artistic and energetic. Georgette graduated from Rice Memorial High School in 1971 and Johnson State College in 1975, majoring in modern dance. She later attended Johnson and Wales College of Culinary Arts in Providence, R.I., and embarked on a culinary career. For many years she was a chef, including at the Christian Brothers Winery in Napa Valley, Calif., and on blue water yachts that sailed throughout the Bahamas and the Carribean. She opened an Italian restaurant in Sarasota, Fla., and was head of catering for a New Orleans-based restaurant group in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Earlier, Georgie lived in Connecticut, where she invested in an industrial sewing machine and used her sewing talents in entrepreneurial endeavors, including making jackets for a local police department and repairing sails. Georgie, a skilled sailor, assisted in many trips sailing boats for owners in the Northeast to Florida and the Bahamas. Her sewing talents came in handy combined with her sailing expertise when she noticed sailors had difficulty finding a place to get their sails repaired while en route. She started bringing along her sewing machine and did a brisk business repairing sails at various ports along the way.

During her travels in the New Orleans area, she met and fell in love with Rob Blount, from Hattiesburg, Miss. They married in 1998 in Hattiesburg, where they lived for a number of years before eventually moving back to Vermont in 2006.

Throughout her life, Georgette enjoyed the outdoors and nature, particularly Vermont's mountains and Lake Champlain. She took many hikes with friends and her beloved dog, JoJo, and had a garden that overflowed with abundance. She enjoyed many sports, including bowling, sailing, and snow and water skiing. Georgie enjoyed the Ladies' Tuesday Night Bowling League and was a member of a bowling team that traveled to tournaments, including taking trips to the Women's National Bowling Championships in Las Vegas, Detroit and other venues. She was an avid skier and loved Thursday skiing with her niece Ella at Smugglers' Notch.

Georgette loved being back in Vermont and continued to grow her talents in new ways. She took up rug hooking and became an active member of the Fiber Bees, a rug hooking group in the Champlain Islands. The Fiber Bees became a strong and important support for Georgette. One of Georgette's rugs, “Journey,” was recently exhibited at the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild 2020 Exhibition. She also enjoyed painting and drawing.

Georgette had a deep sense of the body-spirit connection, which led her to study Reiki. She achieved her Reiki certification, was a member of the Vermont Reiki Association and loved sharing the benefits of Reiki with others.

In recent years, Georgette worked at Home Depot in Williston in customer service and the gardening department, where she shared her knowledge of flowers, plants and gardening.

Georgette was predeceased by her parents. She is survived by Rob Blount and her eight siblings: Suzanne and husband Victor Pisanelli (Rutland), Isabelle (Washington, D.C.), Bernard (Pompano Beach, Fla.), Paulette and husband Dr. Peter Gunther (South Burlington), Denise (West Rotunda, Fla.), Noelle (Williston), Bridget (Burlington), and Patrice and partner Jessica Humphrey (Burlington). She also leaves her nieces and nephews, Kristina, Matthew and Andrew Pisanelli; Stephanie Lyons; Sarah Thabault; Erik and Luke Johnson; Kaitlin Kessler; Jaime and Sasha Gunther; Andrew and Betsy Coco; and Wilfred, Brima and Ella St. Francis. Georgette also leaves many aunts and uncles, cousins, and great friends.

The family thanks Dr. Peter Gunther, her primary care physician, for his loving care. Deep appreciation is extended to Dr. Farra Khan, Georgie's oncologist, who provided outstanding medical care and also gave Georgie support and encouragement that was profoundly helpful to Georgette during her battle with cancer. The family is thankful to all the nurses and staff at the McClure Miller Respite House who provided compassionate care and support during Georgette's final days. The family expresses their deep appreciation to the Fiber Bees and Jane Sutton for their support and love of Georgette.

Arrangements are in the care of LaVigne Funeral Home. There will be no funeral services and, per Georgette's wishes, there will be a celebration of life later in the summer.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in memory of Georgette Thabault to the Champlain Adaptive Mounted Program (CHAMP, vtchamp.org) or to the Vermont Reiki Association (vermontreikiassociation.org).