Bernard H. Crosier

SPRINGFIELD- Bernard H. Crosier, 96, of North Springfield, died January 4, at Springfield Health and Rehabilitation Center. He was born on Nov. 25, 1922, in Wilmington, the son of Alonzo and Lila (Upton) Crosier, the fourth of eight children. He graduated from Wilmington High School in 1941, and from the Vermont State School of Agriculture at Randolph Center in 1943. Following his graduation, he started working as herdsman at the school, a position he held for eight years, with the exception of the two years of service in the Army, serving in Georgia and Italy during World War II. After discharge from the Army, he served 20 years as a platoon sergeant with the Vermont National Guard. In 1945, while home on leave from the Army, he married Agnes Bryant, of North Springfield, who was a student nurse at Gifford Memorial Hospital in Randolph.
Following his discharge from the Army, he returned to herdsman at the Agriculture School, where Agnes also worked as a school nurse. In 1951 the couple moved to North Springfield, where Mr. Crosier worked as a heating technician for a plumbing and heating firm. Six years later, he started working for the Rutland Herald as a news reporter for the greater Springfield area. He became the Herald’s Windsor County bureau chief and stayed in that position until his retirement in 1987. After retirement, he continued his affiliation with the Rutland Herald as a freelancer, writing as a columnist for another 15 years.
He and his wife visited each of the lower 48 states and five Canadian provinces in their camper in their post-retirement travels. They visited all the major Civil War battlefields and the homes of 34 presidents of the United States and a dozen or so American novelists and poets. Mr. Crosier referred to himself as “a history nut” who followed the Lewis and Clark Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, and General Grant’s campaign down the Mississippi Valley. In addition to his love of history, he was an avid woods hiker, camper, snowshoer, mountain climber, and gardener. He served as the leader of a 4-H club and on the governing boards of 4-H Camp Downer in Sharon, the Vermont Humanities Council, and the Springfield Recycling Committee. He was a member of the Ascutney Trail Association and Vermont’s 251 Club, and a lifetime member of the Friends of the Springfield Library.
Mr. Crosier is survived by a daughter, Candice Fortier and her husband Wendell, of Richford; three sons, Wayne Crosier and his wife Diane, of Plattsburgh, NY, Ernest Crosier and his wife Sarah Vail, of Chester, and Lon Crosier and his wife  Aesuk, of Woodbridge, VA; two sisters, Shirley Crosier, of Brattleboro, and Betty Adams, of Vernon; seven grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was preceded in death by his wife in 2012; a daughter, Darlene Pudvah, in 1988; a brother, Ernest; and three sisters, Bernice, Doris, and Marion.
A graveside service with military honors will be held on Saturday, April 27, at 2 pm, at the Pine Grove Cemetery in North Springfield. Donations may be made to the Springfield Hospital Foundation, P.O. Box 2003, Springfield, VT  05156.

The Deerfield Valley News

797 VT Route 100 North
Wilmington, VT 05363

Phone: 802-464-3388
Fax: 802-464-7255

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