Obituary: Marie Flaim Tedford, 1924-2023 

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• Marie Flaim Tedford, 1924-2023

Marie Adele Flaim Tedford, 99, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt and dear friend, passed away on September 15 at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. She succumbed to a heart ailment that came on suddenly, after a full day spent in some favorite pastimes — animated conversation, dining out, walking in her Underhill Center neighborhood, and planning activities with friends and family. She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Walter “Ted” Tedford; son Thomas O’Brien and his wife, Linda; son Charles O’Brien; daughters Patricia Goudey O’Brien and Paula Diaco; nine beloved grandchildren and their spouses; 11 great-grandchildren; son-in-law Jonathan Draudt and Miya Cline; two nieces; and a cousin. She was predeceased by two daughters, Barbara-Jean O’Brien and Laurie Tedford, and her son-in-law Robert Diaco.

Marie was the second of four children born to Jenny Genantone Flaim and Charles Flaim in Fort Lee, N.J. She attended Catholic schools in Fort Lee and graduated from St. Cecilia High School in Englewood, N.J. She was a writer all of her life, publishing numerous articles for craft magazines in New Jersey and newspaper articles in Vermont. She published a children’s book, The Bearamores Visit the Badlands, for an educational publisher, and she wrote six editions of Collecting Books with her daughter Pat for Random House’s House of Collectibles. In 2019, Marie released a volume of short stories about growing up in Italian neighborhoods in New Jersey, Nanny Goat Hill from the Tamarac Press.

A lifelong lover of books, Marie was a founding member of the Vermont Antiquarian Booksellers Association. For decades, she conducted her business, Mountain Reverie Books, selling rare and antiquarian books from the small shop beside her house in Underhill Center.

In recent years, Marie enjoyed spending time with friends and family, especially enjoying a weekly gathering of writers from around the neighborhood in her adopted state. She never liked leaving Vermont, except to visit special people, and she would say about taking her leave now, “It was not my idea.”

A memorial celebration of life is planned for Sunday, October 8, 2-5 p.m., at the town hall in Underhill Center. The family will combine this celebration with memories of Marie’s daughter Laurie, who passed away just prior to the recent pandemic. Friends of Laurie’s and Marie’s are welcome to be with us to celebrate two very wonderful people. Beverages and light refreshment will be available.