Vera C. Parmiter, 98, of Perry, New York, died on March 7, 2018 in Charlottesville, Virginia, while visiting family.
She was born on December 14, 1919 in Watertown, New York, the daughter of James A. and Minna Anthony Common. In her early years, she spent summers at the family cottage on Wellesley Island in the Thousand Islands. Her days were filled with swimming, canoeing, hiking, and reading. It was a time when children often left the house after breakfast and didn’t return until supper time. These experiences had a profound influence on her life. There she developed her lifelong love of nature and the outdoors. Under the tutelage of her mother she became an avid gardener, a passion that continued throughout her life.
She graduated from Watertown High School in 1937 and went on to Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, where she was a member of the swimming team and a cheerleader. While there she met her future husband, Arthur G. Parmiter, whom she married on November 15, 1941. She eventually finished her college course work by correspondence and received a B.A. degree in 1944. Her graduation fulfilled her mother’s dream that her five daughters each earn at least a four-year college degree, a remarkable accomplishment at that time in our history.
The young couple first lived outside of Washington, DC, before moving to Syracuse and then to Rochester, New York. By that time their first two children had arrived. In 1948 they purchased property in Perry, New York, and began building a house. Over the following 14 years, four more children were born and additions were regularly made to the house to keep up with the growing family. It got to be somewhat of a local joke when people would comment that “Vera must be pregnant again because Art is adding onto the house.” James, the oldest child, started kindergarten in 1948 and at least one member of the family could be found somewhere in the Perry School System until Paul, the youngest, graduated in 1980, a stretch of 32 years.
Vera was very active in the community. She was a member of the Brick Presbyterian Church for the entire 70 years she lived in Perry and she served the congregation by writing letters to shut-ins, reading to elderly blind people, delivering food to the poor, and working at the local clothes closet. She was a member of Order of the Eastern Star, the DAR, and Friends of the Perry Public Library. She felt strongly that parents should read to their children and was a longtime active member of Project Read. She and three other women started a bridge club in 1948. The group grew to as many as 12 members over the years before declining to four members over the recent decade. The remaining group was still playing in 2017.
Vera completed teacher certification studies in English at SUNY Geneseo and began teaching seventh grade English at Perry Central High School in 1963. She continued teaching for 17 years, retiring in 1980.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of nearly 48 years, Arthur Parmiter; her sisters, Faith Wodell, June Karamessines, Ruth Argento, and Catherine Johnson; and her brother Robert Common.
She is survived by her daughter Claudia (Edward) Smith of Oriskany, New York; and her sons James (Marcy) Parmiter and Paul (Patricia) Parmiter of Charlottesville, Virginia; Bruce (Janet) Parmiter of Hayes, Virginia; Robert (Judy) Parmiter of Newark, New York; and David Parmiter of Austin, Texas; as well as Sandra Parmiter of Morristown, New Jersey, and Pamela Walter of Austin, Texas. In addition, there are 14 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.
There will be a memorial service at the Brick Presbyterian Church in Perry, New York, during June. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Perry Public Library, the Brick Presbyterian Church, the Minna A. Common Nature Center in Thousand Island Park, New York, or Project Read.