This is to note the passing of one of our members, KD Vitelli, on September 12, 2023. I refer you to the excellent obituary in the Portland paper. She lived a large life, full of adventure and contributions to her field, ancient Greek archeology and the ethics of archeology, making many friends along the way.
We in the GCW who were fortunate to have known KD when she was an active member knew that she was a gifted flower arranger—both in our design class and in the broader palette of her garden—and brought that gift to the Nickels-Sortwell Garden. Working with Lisa Freeman and the committee, serving one year as chair, she oversaw the renovation of that long rather neglected garden (other than keeping the weeds at bay by our club) based on research into the original design.
The finished garden was accomplished with a lot of hard work, earning the club an award for their efforts. She was a knowledgeable hands-on gardener and contributor to our plant sale, as well as creating her own delightful landscape on the Eastern River in Dresden.
As a Dresden resident, I knew her from volunteering on the Conservation Commission, the Swap Shop, and the Bridge Academy Library plant sale. As outreach from the Conservation Commission, years ago she began to write a monthly column in The Dresden Communicator called “Seen in Dresden,” weaving a fascinating narrative from all the reports people sent her of their observations of nature around town—often enhanced with research she did into whatever had sparked her or someone else’s curiosity. The column gained her a loyal following and many friends.
For the past few years, when her health declined to the point where she didn’t dare drive, I was happy to swing by Dresden to take her to Garden Club. The past year or two she had to give even that up, and this summer, with the oppressive humidity, her lungs just gave out—BUT not before one final triumph! Some of us in Design Class remember when she asked us to read a manuscript/memoir she had written based on letters her father had saved from all the years since 1968, when she began studying in Greece and Turkey. We all gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up and urged her to get it published. Well, she did! Just before she died she was able to hold in her hands the finished book, “Do I Really Want to Be an Archeologist?” The publisher was so kind as to rush the publication date so she could do that, once they knew how sick she was.
Knowing she didn’t have long to live, she wrote in her monthly news column in the Dresden Communicator: "This is a time of transition for, as summer (whatever you think of this one) starts changing to fall, I, too, am making a big transition. I have had a great time learning with and from many of you about Dresden’s remarkable great outdoors, and sharing those observations and stories with all of you. I hope you’ll continue to keep a close eye on Mother Nature’s doings around town. She has everything to teach us, and we so badly need to learn her lessons."
Farewell, dear friend. We will long miss you.
Submitted by Julie Rea
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