Paul F. Tarte, Sr., Vergennes-
Paul passed away peacefully Saturday, March 11th at UVM Medical Center surrounded by his loving family after a brief illness. Born January 4, 1944 to Esther Blair and Hormisdas “Frank Tarte, Paul was a life-long resident of Vergennes, retiring in 2006 from BF Goodrich after over 40 years of service. While he lived a full life being a popular drummer in several local bands and an amateur snowmobile racer in his younger years, he was a devoted father and grandfather that always put his children and grandchildren first. His love for watching the Red Sox on TV was only rivaled by his enjoyment for seeing his own children and grandchildren play school sports, rarely missing one of their games or school concerts. Paul was an avid outdoorsman. He has had many lifelong friends that joined him in his love for hunting and fishing, including those he considers close friends still today: Charlie Tucker, Jim Bodette, Bob Jenkins, & Bob Mitchell. In recent years you would find Paul spending his summer days with Becky in the boat on Otter Creek or out on the lake fishing. If it was November and early December, “Big Zeke” could be found at Papa Wicker’s deer camp in Ira with the guys whose friendship he cherished like his own family (Wicker, Otter, Ditto, Jethro, Jaybird, Kodiak, Ferdy, Big Daddy, Chris, and Little Zeke), whether it be giving out his trademark hugs when you first arrived at camp the day before deer season or capping off a day of hunting by playing poker with the guys. But if it were anytime between October and late December and he had his choice, you would find him in a duck blind either here in Vermont or in recent years on his yearly trips to Ontario sharing special time in the blind with his son (and Bella) along with grandson Chris. Having not missed an opening day in over 50 years, he has passed that passion for hunting, and waterfowl hunting in particular, on to his next 2 generations, and although that passion burns stronger than ever in them, they now face the tough task of carrying that passion on without him. He is survived by his wife Rebecca “Becky”, his daughter Lisa, and her partner Jim Kane, son Paul Jr. ”Zeke” and his wife Darcy, son Jeff and his wife Carie, Stepson David Barrows and his wife Carrie, and stepdaughter Betsy Barrows and her partner Sean. He leaves behind nine grandchildren: Jason Holwager, Chris Holwager, Karina Tarte, Sydney Tarte, Megan Tarte, Eric Tarte, Sevie Francis, Barrett Barrows, Lydia Raymond, and two great grandchildren, Geeta and Amaya. He also leaves a special son-in-law Rob Holwager, and the mother of his children Cheryle Patten. Paul was predeceased by his mother, father, stepfather James McGrath, brother Richard, and sister Margaret.
Services will be held Thursday, March 16, 2017, 11:00 a.m. at the North Ferrisburgh United Methodist Church on 227 Old Hollow Road in Ferrisburgh, with a gathering and small luncheon immediately following the service at the Church. There will be no calling hours. Burial will be at a later date as decided by the family. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Lake Champlain Walleye Association, P.O. Box 104, Swanton, VT 05488, or to Ducks Unlimited through their on-line donations at www.ducks.org under the “Get Involved” tab.
