Nadine
Berrini died on May 10, 2024, in Waterbury Center, Vt., at age 51.
Picture her at a table she built, in a home she designed, with a
glass of Bordeaux wine in one hand, a cracker with goat cheese in the
other. She has a point to make, so she’s talking and gesturing a
little broadly and the wine is threatening to spill. Sitting across
from her is her husband, or one of her beloved family members or a
friend. There are so many of us, friends and family, who sat at her
table.
Her
parents met hitchhiking at a Massachusetts Turnpike on-ramp. Her
father had been dropped off by a police officer after being picked up
for attempting the same activity in a neighboring town. Her mother
was returning to ballet school. Any suggestion that ties Nadine’s
lifelong skepticism of authority and obsession with travel to her
origin story is both implausible and probably true.
Accompanied
by a new-wave soundtrack, she grew up in western Massachusetts,
within the sphere of influence of the five colleges’ radio stations
and their ambient activism. That she convinced her high school to
discontinue the tradition of having female graduates wear pink
graduation gowns is a matter of record. The incident with the flag on
the town common is now only a matter of conjecture.
She
majored in labor studies at the University of Massachusetts while
working the evening shift in a gas station. She volunteered at the
college feminist newsletter, worked on political and labor campaigns,
marched and read and argued. After being tear-gassed one too many
times, she focused on less stressful pursuits. She obtained a
master’s degree in creative writing and spent a summer abroad in
Cambridge, England, reading Joyce’s Ulysses.
In
2007 she came to Vermont with two dreams: to design and build a
house, her home, and to flee the winter months to warmer climes. She
got a job with the Vermont Land Trust, where she would work for the
next 17 years. There she met her husband, Chris Moore, who aided and
abetted her in home building, winter fleeing and the leisurely
enjoyment of meals. She was proud of her Italian heritage and
treasured her visits to southern Europe, especially Italy and Greece,
where she felt very much at home. She loved snorkeling and clear
water and rocky beaches.
The
home was built, slowly, over a decade. It sits on a hill, surrounded
by gardens she created. Nadine’s family and friends would come to be
with her, and they filled the home with talk and gestures, the
preparation of meals, and the eating of so much food, and they would
hug and part and promise to do it again. In colder months the home
would sit quiet while Nadine and Chris would trek through the
Mediterranean or across the American South and West. Years filled in
this way, and not enough of them.
Nadine
was predeceased by her birth father, James Berrini.
In
addition to her husband, Nadine’s loved ones include her parents,
Patricia and Simon James; sister Gwen D’Angelo and Gwen’s
husband, Michael, and their children, Bowie and Luna; sister Angela
James and Angela’s fiancé, Kevin Gardiner; and numerous extended
family members. She also leaves behind enough close friends to fill
several large Italian villas. She wished she could have taken them
all on a trip.
In
lieu of flowers, please tell a friend or family member that you love
them. Please also consider a contribution to Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice, 600 Granger Rd., Barre, VT 05641, or to the
hospice organization in your area.
A
memorial service will be announced at a later date. If you would like
email updates as they become available, please sign up at
nadinememorial.com.
This article appears in May 15-21, 2024.
Beautiful….Bless you all.