Nicki Hanson Carmolli, 82, of Rutland, Vt., died Saturday, October
14, 2023, at home with his family by his side.
Survivors include
his wonderful 29-year-old wife, Diane (in a
quirk of physics they were married for 61 years); seven
children: Michael of Rutland,Vt., Peter (Gwen Sprigg) of South
Burlington, Vt., Joseph (Natalie Waterous) of Grand Haven, Mich.,
Gina Carmolli Steen (Ray) of Brunswick, Maine; Marya of South
Burlington, Vt., Matthew (Casey Luke) of Essex Jct., Vt., and Chiara
of Essex Jct.; eight treasured grandchildren: Kayla, Ryan, Marley,
Ivy, Eileen, Caramia, Nina and Mira; his siblings: Nan Parker, Wendy
(Richard) Gibson, Dr. Gino “Terry” (Donna) Carmolli; and his
brother-in-law James (Joyce) Gingras.
He was predeceased
by parents, Gino and Shirley (Hanson) Carmolli, and his sister and
brother-in-law, Sandra and Robert Fitzgerald. Nick enjoyed his
extended family, and all the cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews,
greats and grands who are so numerous that we will sadly not be able
to list them here since we want this obituary to be shorter than War
and Peace.
Nick was born on
January 29, 1941, in Barre, Vt. He attended and graduated from
Spaulding High School, class of ‘58 and the University of Vermont,
class of ‘62.
As a great baseball
player, he played shortstop and third base on the Spaulding High
School 1958 State Championship team and on the 1962 University of
Vermont Yankee Conference Championship team.
Overlooked by the
New York Yankees in the baseball draft after graduation, Nick was not
ignored by the army. He was first stationed in Fort Knox, Ky., and
then after a short stint in the Bluegrass State, Nick was awarded an
all-expense paid trip to Vietnam. Shortly after his tour of duty, Lt.
Carmolli left the army and moved back to the Green Mountain State
where he and Diane made Rutland their home.
Nick was a
stockbroker and investment advisor for over 50 years and worked until
his passing. He ended his career with the great people at Morgan
Stanley. He loved his clients and coworkers, past and present, and
always approached work with enthusiasm.
The Rutland
community was a large part of Nick’s life. He taught the thresholds
decision-making model to incarcerated residents in the Rutland
Community Corrections Center. He was a member of the Immaculate Heart
of Mary Church, where he was a Eucharistic minister there and in the
homes of those unable to attend services. From 1992-1998, he served
on the board of directors for the Rutland Regional Medical Center. As
a Rotarian for 50 years, he served as a past president and was a
recipient of the Paul Harris award. He ran the Foreign Youth Exchange
Program for close to 20 years and hosted eight exchange students. In
the past couple of days, we have received calls and emails from
people all over the world who have participated in this remarkable
program.
Crossword puzzles,
Scrabble, Bananagrams, card games, basketball, golf, skiing,
cribbage, spelling bees, trivia contests, music and theater were just
some of the things he enjoyed. He wrote fun limericks to commemorate
the big and little wonders of life.
Nick was a loyal,
caring and generous person. He was also a lifelong fan of the New
York Yankees — many people consider this his only character flaw.
For those of us fortunate enough to call him friend or dad, he was so
much fun to be around. We will remember him for a thousand different
and lovely things, and we will miss him dearly.
The family wishes to
give special thanks to Dr. Bruce Bullock, Dr. Prema Menon, Dr.
Veronika Jedlovszky, the Rutland Regional Medical Center and the VNA
& Hospice of the Southwest Region for their care during his
illness.
There will be a
celebration of his life in the spring. Tossing Funeral Home is in
charge of arrangements.
Those of you who
might like to make a donation in his name, we list these places for
your consideration: Rutland Dismas House, 103 Park St., Rutland, VT,
05701; Mercy Connections (founded by the Sisters of Mercy to help the
underserved adults in education and the community) at 255 So.
Champlain St., Burlington, VT, 05401; or your local food shelf.
This article appears in Oct 25-31, 2023.