Jyll Margaret Peg Allen, 47, passed away on July 18, 2025, at Green Mountain Nursing and Rehabilitation in Colchester, Vt.
Jyll was born on May 5, 1978, in Burlington, Vt., along with their twin sister, Elizabeth, to Richard and Lucille Allen. Graduating from Essex Junction Educational Center in 1996, they obtained a BA in English from Hamilton College in 2000 and a master’s in disability studies from the University of Vermont in 2003. They worked in education for decades, including as a paraeducator in South Burlington schools, an after-school aide for Burlington Parks and Recreation and a tutor for Vermont Adult Learning.
Compassion, intelligence and activism defined Jyll’s life. Born with cerebral palsy, Jyll was a wheelchair user who developed assertive self-advocacy techniques early on. Unafraid to speak up for themselves and their needs, Jyll used these same skills to promote social justice. Their recent volunteer work for Mercy Connections, Local Motion and VtDigger exemplified their passion for creating and nurturing the local community.
Jyll was a creative person with a wry sense of humor who loved Bill Watterson’s comic strip,” Calvin and Hobbes.” A lover of words and language, they collaborated on serial “chapters” with Elizabeth when the two were young. Jyll published some of their writing in The Green Mountains Deep: Fiction about Disabled Vermonters by a Disabled Vermonter. A sticker on their transfer lift saying, “Where there’s a Jyll, there’s a way,” epitomized their punny humor and cleverness.
Jyll is survived by their parents, Richard and Lucille Allen of Essex, Vt.; their sister, Elizabeth Allen, of Colchester, Vt.; and brother, Daniel Allen, of Colorado Springs, Colo.; extended family members; and friends.
Jyll was predeceased by maternal grandparents, Reginald and Gretchen Vosburgh; paternal grandparents, Fuller and Margaret Allen; and aunts, Joyce Vosburgh and Carol Allen.
Celebration of Life for Jyll M. P. Allen: Saturday, August 30, 1 p.m., at the First Unitarian Universalist Church at 152 Pearl St. in Burlington.
Please visit awrfh.com to share your memories and condolences.
This article appears in Jul 16-22, 2025.