Margaret Green Torrey

Margaret Green Torrey died peacefully in her home in Putney, Vermont on August 19, 2017 at the age of 89, following a brief period of illness.

Margot was born on March 15, 1928 in Hartford, Connecticut to Chandler and Margaret Hitchcock Green. Reflecting on her childhood, she fondly recalled playing in the stream behind her house in then- rural West Harford, raising both poodles and goats, and singing and hiking with her family. She graduated from Chaffee School (1946) and Smith College (1950). An adventurous junior year abroad studying art history in post-war Paris led to her life-long love of cooking, art, France, and travel.

She married Frederick G. Torrey in 1951 and raised four children on the campuses of Mount Hermon School and Loomis-Chaffee School. She actively participated in the life of these vibrant schools, developing programs for arts enrichment, humanities, and foreign study. In 1976, Margot and Fred moved to Putney to establish the Putney Woodshed which Margot developed into the premier outlet for fine local crafts. Margot dove into community life, connecting with her neighbors through the visual arts, writing, arts programming at the public library, French dinner group, and spiritual, environmental, and activist projects. (Fred served as Headmaster of Thetford Academy until his untimely death in 1990.) Working with her fellow artisans, Margot brought the Putney Craft Tour into being, now in its 39th year. Her own artwork (woodcuts, sculpture and writing) blossomed in this rich artistic community.

She lived by the motto "carpe diem" - always learning, active, and engaged. She was unafraid to express herself in words and through her talents in the visual arts. She inspired and nurtured communities wherever she ventured. She delighted in her large and growing family, her friends of all ages, the natural world, new ideas, good food, gardening, world travel, political discussion, artistic expression, and her beloved Sunapee summer home - right up to the end of her life.

She is survived by her brother, John Green of Duluth, MN, her four children, Katharine Torrey of Alstead, NH, David Torrey of Cambridge, MA, William Torrey of Etna, NH, and Neige Christenson, of Waltham, MA, as well as her 10 grandchildren and five great grandchildren. She is predeceased by her brother David Green and husband, Fred.

SERVICES: There will be a service in celebration of her life on Saturday, September 9th at 2 PM in the Greenhoe Theater of Landmark College on River Road South in Putney, Vermont.

Memorial donations may be made to Northfield Mount Hermon School, Loomis Chaffee School, or to the Putney Public Library in support local arts programming
Arrangements under the direction of Ker Westerlund Funeral Home, Brattleboro, VT.