Carol Sweeney Credit: Courtesy Mother, wife, friend, teacher, doctor’s office manager, volunteer and homemaker extraordinaire, Carol Rudavsky Sweeney died November 25, in Berlin Vt. She was 83. She died peacefully with her husband, Jack Sweeney, by her side. He was able to hear the last brea th Carol took before leaving this world. After spending many vacations in a cabin on the shores on Woodbury Lake in Woodbury, Vt., Carol and her husband decided to leave New Jersey and, in the summer of 1971, moved into an old farmhouse in Montpelier. This was where they would raise their young family and spend the next 55 years fixing up the house, becoming part of the community, planting vegetable and flower gardens, running Jack’s painting business and putting on incredible holiday celebrations. But most importantly, it is where she would find herself. Carol wasted no time adapting to life in the country. She quickly became an avid gardener. Her veggies were prolific, and she absolutely loved peonies. Once a week during the summers, all of us kids had to fill two shopping bags full of weeds before we could make our way to the huge public pool, only steps away on Elm Street. She cooked, canned and froze enough veggies to make it through every winter.   An early advocate for the women’s liberation movement and the Equal Rights Amendment, you could find her on the steps of Montpelier’s capitol or in city hall, demanding that all people be treated as equals. Befriending other activists during the ‘70s, she helped at campaign call centers, advocating for the first female Lieutenant Governor. When Madeleine Kunin won her governorship in 1984, Carol was at it again on the phone. During this time, with four young children, she decided to go back and get a college degree. The option had been denied her after high school, but that was no longer the case. Putting her tenacity and intelligence to work, she graduated from Goddard College with a degree in psychology. This led her to becoming a teacher’s assistant at Montpelier Middle School and Berlin Elementary. Through the state, she obtained her teaching degree based on her experience and schooling. She then worked at both Cabot High School and U-32 High School, where she taught business classes. At U-32, she also became the teacher’s union co-representative. She was adamant about her students learning how to balance a checkbook, obtain a useful degree wherever they went to college or tech school and save money to buy their first house. Many of these students came back to her over the years to share how her guidance had led them to continued success in their lives. She was always humble about their achievements, telling them they were the ones who did the work.  Moving on from teaching after cuts to education, she found a new beginning working as the office manager for Dr. Paul Laffal. There, she juggled the phone, patient services and billing. She was tenacious about getting invoices paid for by insurance companies, and Dr. Laffal admired her for it. They were a great team, and she enjoyed the challenge. She retired in 2010.   Carol Anne Rudavsky was born on October 8, 1942, in Jersey City, N.J., the middle child of Anne Marie (Makley) Rudavsky, a one-time ATT overseas phone operator and Francis Joseph Rudavsky, a trainman on the Lehigh Valley Railroad. When she was in grade school, her family moved to the Jersey Shore. She graduated from Pt. Pleasant Beach High school, where she was a Manasquan majorette. Upon graduation, she quickly found a job working as a secretary for Mayor Thomas F. Shebell Sr. at his private law firm. Carol loved everything about the beach. Shebell and his team were instrumental in building boardwalks and pavilions on the Jersey Shore. She loved her first job. Soon, she would meet her future husband. Against her father’s wishes, Carol was intrigued by Jack’s fast convertible and his rebellious attitude. By chance they were invited to the same wedding. There, Carol asked Jack to dance. Jack, being a little tipsy, was hesitant to say yes. Carol told him she would “dance him sober.” She did, and two years later, they were married at Saint Denis Church in Manasquan. That bond would last until her death for 63 years.  Carol also exhibited an extraordinary amount of empathy in life for everyone. A holiday didn’t go by where residents of local half-way houses would share holiday dinners at the Sweeney home. Money was very tight in those early years, but what she had, she happily shared with all. And she could make a dollar stretch like nobody’s business. A world-renowned shopper, she could find a bargain in the most remote section of any store, especially Harry’s and Zayre’s.  Throughout her life she enjoyed and was fueled by countless hours volunteering. She was involved with school mentoring programs, running a youth group at Christ Church, being a Brownie leader, guest lecturing at Weight Watchers and participating in the Everybody Wins program, to name a few. She was an avid walker, loved cross-country skiing in Hubbard Park, painted still lifes, wrote poetry and was an accomplished bowler. She was a renaissance woman. A true people person, she could talk to almost everyone, and she did. On her many travels abroad, she always came back with stories of the folks she encountered and marveled at how she found more similarities with them than differences. In every town, there are people who lead by example, people that help sew the fabric of a community, become part of many people’s lives, and give endless amounts of energy, love and time to make those communities a better place to live in. Carol Rudavsky Sweeney was one of those people, and all of us were better for it. She is already sorely missed.  The family would like to thank all of the nurses and nurses’ aides on the second floor of Chestnut Place. Their care, thoughtfulness and warmth made the last few days of mom’s life incredibly comfortable. She is survived by her husband, Jack, and four children: her daughter, Shea; her son Shawn and his wife, Randy; her son Shannon and his wife, Pamela, and her son Shane; and nine grandchildren.  A celebration of life service will be held at Christ Church in Montpelier on January 10, 2026, at 11 p.m., with a reception to follow. All are welcome to attend. 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