Alan E. Fitch

Alan E. Fitch, (1945 -2018)

Alan was born in Neptune, NJ on June 21, 1945, the son of Eleanor (Haines) Fitch and Lowell E. Fitch. He grew up in Barrington, RI, where his love for sailing began. The family moved to Sherborn, MA in the summer 1962 in time for Alan to graduate from Framingham High School in 1963. He graduated from Nichols College of Business Administration in 1967 with a degree in marketing which served him well throughout his years.

Alan joined the US Army in the summer of 1967 during the Vietnam War. He graduated from Infantry Officer Candidate School in spring of 1968 and served out his tour of duty in Kaiserslautern, Germany. He came home in 1970 a 1st Lieutenant.

Upon his return from Germany, Alan worked briefly for Mobil Oil Corporation as a marketing rep along the coast of Maine. His tour with Mobil ended in the fall of 1970 when two good friends asked him to join them in a ski lodge venture in Bondville, VT, known then as the Windhaus. Being an entrepreneur at heart he headed for the Green Mountain State to become an innkeeper. Within a few weeks of his arrival, he vowed to make Vermont his home for the rest of his life. He lived and worked in the greater Bondville area for the next 5 years. From inn keeping to mowing lawns; from serving hot chocolate at Stratton Mountain to managing Tater Hill Golf Course, doing whatever it took to make a living that would keep him in Vermont. In November of 1975, he met and married his wife Noel (Gale) also from Bondville.

Together, they moved to Brattleboro in the fall of 1976 to begin a family and a new marketing career with DJ Wholesale Building Materials, Inc. In 1987, the entrepreneurial bug struck again in the form of the West Brattleboro Building Center. Although this business showed great promise, it closed in 1991, following a downturn in the economy. In the summer of 1991, Alan joined Sebert Wholesale Lumber, which provided the springboard for launching his own wholesale lumber company in 1999, Vermont Forest Products, Inc. In the spring of 1995, Alan moved his family to Marlboro where his love of nature and forests became his passion. He was at home in his woods. He related well to the expression, "I farm the forest". But then along came the kayaks. He and Noel spent many weekends paddling the lakes and shorelines of New England.

To Alan, life was always an ongoing, adventure, to be savored and never taken for granted. Besides his love and devotion to family, his passions were working in his woods, cross-country skiing, kayaking and sailing.

He is survived by:

His wife of 44 year, Noel Gale Fitch, Marlboro VT
Son, Graham H. Fitch, wife Jennifer Vosburgh Fitch and their children Lillian and Lowell Fitch. Montpelier, VT
Daughter Morgan A Fitch Portland, ME
Brother Stephen R, wife Mary-Beth Morton and daughter Skylar Judith of Putney VT
Brenda Burrows Fitch, Brattleboro VT
Susan Sprague Fitch and sons Stephen and Thomas, Warwick RI
Justin Alan Fitch his wife Nicole and twins Orion and Scarlett of Snoqualmie WA
James W Fitch, Brattleboro VT
Amanda Fitch and son Zachary of Mountain View CA
Ethan Fitch Torrington WY
Many loved friends and neighbors

Alan was predeceased by his parents, Lowell and Elinore Fitch, East Greenwich RI
Brothers Lowell 'Skip' Fitch, Torrington, WY and James H Fitch of Warwick RI and niece Katherine Fitch, Redmond WA

Interment will take place 11:00 a.m. Nov 14, 2018 at Meetinghouse Cemetery in Brattleboro, VT. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a memorial contribution to DAVID'S HOUSE, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon NH