On April 28, 1919 Sylvia Thayer Ferry was born in her parents' sunny bedroom at Maplehurst Farm, Lancaster, Massachusetts. She passed way on Monday, March 9, 2009, surrounded by her loving family. Sylvia enjoyed every moment of a wonderful life. She grew up on the family farm amidst the agrarian beauty and village charm of Western Massachusetts. Harnessing Bunty, her Shetland pony, she would take carriage rides through the forests and fields to visit and picnic with her cousins. She enjoyed a safe and happy childhood, surrounded by good and decent New England people. Born into the Unitarian faith, Sylvia grew up with respect for all living things and her mind was always open to new ideas. Sylvia loved nature in all of its miraculous expressions. Her grandfather and father were ornithologists and she could easily identify birds by their songs, plumage, flight and movement. Her mother was a farmer who drove tractors and Jaguars and was trailed by a pack of adoring Yorkshire Terriers. She loved all animals, and she took delight in their traits and personalities. "Be gentle, talk to them quietly," she would advise. And that is the way that she treated people. Sylvia was a member of the fourth graduating class at Bennington College. Bennington was the perfect college for her brilliant and inquisitive mind and her open heart and spirit. She used her scientific education to better understand the world and independently solve problems. A fully-developed woman, she perfectly balanced science and the arts. She loved to ask questions and learn new information. She knew that wise teachers and a good education are cornerstones of happy, healthy children and families. She believed that every child should be a wanted child. Sylvia loved babies and children, and she always stood up for their dignity and well-being. Sylvia loved Ronald Ferry, her husband of sixty-five years. Together they purchased an old Vermont hill farm on the outskirts of Montpelier, their home for more than half a century, and they established his surgical practice. Sylvia and Ron did everything together in a harmonious and loving way. She supported his medical practice and made a happy loving home for themselves, their three children, and generations of dogs, cats, donkeys and fowl. She enriched her children's education with travel, books, art, interesting people, animals, and her profound insight. She loved farming, maple sugaring and gardening and the forests and fields of her home and the beautiful State of Vermont. Sylvia worked tirelessly to improve Vermont. She chaired the Montpelier School Board and made it school policy that every child would have an honest opportunity to completely develop his or her ability. She hired talented visionary school superintendents and principals. She made sure that problems were solved fairly. She led the PTA and encouraged parents to support childhood education. She developed and taught the Environmental Learning for the Future (ELF) program for Vermont public schools. Sylvia loved the beauty and riches of these green hills and she was a pioneer at the Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC) and the Vermont Land Trust. She used her education, her New England background, and her kind and gentle personality to build sound and sustainable public policy. In more recent years, Sylvia was active in Food Works at Two Rivers Center. Sylvia cherished children and families, and Vermont's human and environmental ecology. She understood that children who are hungry fell insecure and they will neither learn, nor grow physically and emotionally. With her friends and colleagues at Two Rivers she worked to eliminate the root causes of childhood hunger by returning students and their communities back to the land through hands-on food and gardening educational opportunities. At Two Rivers children and their families learn how to grow and prepare nutritious and appetizing food. Contributions in Sylvia's name can be made to: Food Works at Two Rivers Center, 64 Main Street, Montpelier, VT 05602 and