Olive
Elizabeth Sedon died on May 16, 2024, in Bradford, Vt., after finally
succumbing to a long and protracted illness.
Olive
burst like a comet into her family’s life when she was born on
January 6, 2002. Even as a baby, Olive had a fully developed
personality that was by turns dramatic, hilarious, stunningly
precocious and heartbreakingly sweet. Very particular in her tastes
and preferences, Olive loved to lay in bed with her parents many
mornings and look at books of flower photos while drinking a
blueberry smoothie. Before she was a year old, she walked and talked,
and she had a lot to say. She would challenge (and sometimes
confound) her parents to explain things such as how the universe
could possibly be limitless or why animals so often had to suffer.
Olive
grew up at her family’s home on Dickerman Hill in Tunbridge. She
loved to roam the gardens, fields and forests, delighting in the
insects and animals she would encounter. Olive had a strong affinity
and empathy for animals her entire life. She bonded with her pet mice
and dogs but also with baby birds that had fallen from their nests.
With a brave, adventurous spirit and a limitless imagination, she led
her little brother, Metro, on many quests and arduous journeys to
discover the dragons and other strange creatures that inhabited
distant woods and pastures. This spirit never left her, and whether
it was living on a sailboat in the North Atlantic, climbing a
challenging peak or completing an epic mountain bike ride, Olive
almost never said no to an adventure. A natural athlete, Olive easily
mastered difficult skills and especially enjoyed snowboarding,
surfing and mountain biking.
Her
great physical beauty belied a fierce determination and inner
strength that could, at times, lead her into and out of peril. This,
combined with her intellectual and emotional intelligence and sharp
wit, made Olive a unique and unforgettable person to everyone who met
her. She loved street art and loud, fast rock and roll. She loved
fashion. She loved spicy food. She loved to drive. She had a special
compassion for people at the margins of life and people who suffered.
Olive had a full heart.
In
recent years, Olive struggled with a debilitating and progressive
mental illness that she and her family tried so hard to overcome.
Olive lived with a great deal of pain from this. In the last months
of her life, she mounted a strong effort to get better, eliminating
any kind of self-medication, practicing yoga and walking, and
reengaging with her formal education. She faced her challenges
bravely until the very end.
Olive
is survived by her mom, Allison Ericson; her dad, Daniel Sedon; and
her brothers, Jon Maxwell Wright and Metro Jackson Sedon. Olive will
be buried in the Vermont Forest Cemetery in Roxbury. A remembrance of
life ceremony will be held to honor Olive later this summer.
This article appears in The Summer Preview 2024.
This story touched my heart deeply. What a beautiful human being. Run free now Olive. The universe is your home.
Olive was indeed adventurous. At a young age, when I was most acquainted with her, Olive was captivatingly intelligent, extremely curious and unabashedly inquisitive. After introducing me to her pet mouse, I remember her pulling him from her shoulder and gazing at him knowingly, as if they shared a secret. I was impressed by her delicate care and handling of him, and even more so, by the wonderment he invoked in her.
I am shattered by her passing and hope her family takes comfort knowing I will always remember Olive’s compassion and bohemian spirit.
Dear Daniel and Allison- It is with great sorrow that I learn about Olive’s passing. She loved learning about Biology and I loved having her as a student. My heart goes out to you and your family. -Maryann Postans