East Montpelier, VT Blanche Clara (Letalien) Cutler was born on February 7, 1924, the daughter of Clara Belle (Howieson ) Letalien and Adam Albert Letalien. She was their second child born 10 years after her sister Ethel Mae (Letalien) LaMountain. Her third sister, Wanda (Letalien) Wilbur was born 4 years later. Both are now deceased. Because it was the early 20th century, she was subjected to many early childhood diseases and although a fairly robust child, she was exposed to some quite powerful illnesses some of which were never diagnosed. She was unable to finish one of her elementary school years after being absent for an extended period of time; she therefore completed that grade the next year. She attended high school at Montpelier High School and graduated in the Class of 1943. In 1993 she attended her 50th class reunion which was a joy for her. A short time after high school, she met Harold L. Cutler of East Montpelier. A courtship ensued and they married in a small ceremony in 1944 before Harold was sent to the West Coast after being conscripted into the army. From the West Coast he was originally destined to be part of the invasion force of the Japanese Islands. He passed through Monterrey, CA and Seattle, WA where the forces were gathering. He always mentioned how beautiful was the West Coast and always wanted to take her back there, but unfortunately was never able to do so. In 1947, Blanche suffered a miscarriage of their first child who was stillborn, and nearly died herself as well. Two years later on March 6, 1949, she gave birth to Harold L. Cutler, Jr. Although unable to have more children, "Luman" would be at the center of their lives thereafter: 40 years for Harold and 61 years for Blanche. Blanche's career took her to many different jobs and ultimately to the one that was most personally satisfying for her. For many years she worked at the woolen mills in North Montpelier, weaving endless yards of wool cloth for the war effort. As the fabric industry gradually moved out of New England to the South, Blanche found herself operating plastic moulds producing various kinds of baby necessities at the Reddy Company in the 60's and 70's in Montpelier, Vermont. In the 70's Blanche went to work at the Vermont Workshop for the Blind on Upper Elm Street in Montpelier as an auxiliary seamstress so that the blind could meet their sewing quotas in their various contracts. Primarily they made the old fashioned "rag rugs" that were made from colorful strips of cloth in a long strip which was later fashioned into a round, very sturdy and very beautiful rug in all sizes. Blanche started by finishing the products, but soon her boss noted that she had a penchant for teaching the blind workers how to overcome sewing difficulties. From that point a new career was born. Blanche did less sewing and more teaching, and when the facility was reorganized in Waterbury, her boss retired and Blanche was placed in charge of teaching the blind to sew. This turned out to be her "calling" after so many years. At one point, one of her clients was a young man who could neither see, nor hear, nor speak, and although it was a mighty challenge, Blanche taught him to sew! Later, the Governor and the Legislature decided to change course and the Blind Workshop was dissolved to be replaced by one of the first Welfare to Work programs in the country. In her fifties, Blanche had taken some college courses and so qualified to be an advocate not just for the blind but for other people with varying challenges. Her new job turned out to be that of a liaison between her clients and private business in which her clients would do small jobs for private enterprise such as darning a hole in a machine made sock that would otherwise be thrown away. This approach benefited both the clients and the private sector. In 1989, Blanche's husband, Harold, died of multiple organ failure and after 45 years of marriage, this was, of course, a terrible shock. One morning in January, 1990, Blanche suffered at her office, by now in Barre, a "sudden death cardiac arrest". Her coworkers immediately gave her CPR and in the 40 minutes that it took to get her to Central Vermont Hospital, she suffered from a lack of oxygen to the brain and would later suffer from a short term memory loss. She spent almost an entire year recovering from this episode and was in poor health for some time after. She went to live with her son, Harold, in Monticello, New York in the Catskills. In 1994, Harold got a job teaching Spanish in Palm Springs, California, and so, Blanche got on the plane, headed for the Southwestern sun. Blanche thoroughly enjoyed her new home with its perpetual flowers, hot climate and majestic San Jacinto Mountains. She loved going to the Coast (yes, to the "OC") where one can dine out on the pier and watch the sun set on the Pacific. She enjoyed the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego. She also went to Europe, especially enjoying a week on the Sun Coast of Spain and a train trip down the Italian and French Riviera. In the last two years, her health began to decline, especially her heart which went into congestive failure. Despite an operation at UCLA Medical Center, the process couldn't be stopped. She went to hospice on September 30 and left peacefully on October 1st. A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, June 11, 2011 at 1:00 pm at St. Augustine Church, 16 Barre Street, Montpelier. Burial will follow the Mass in Cutler Cemetery. Those wishing to send on-line condolences may do so at www.guareandsons .com and go to Blanche's obituary.