Burton Zahler

Burton Ross Zahler of Saint Johnsbury, a long time psychotherapist in Vermont, died on Wednesday, October 5, 2016, at approximately 4:00pm.

Burt was born on December 12, 1931,  the younger of two sons of the late Irving and Clara Zahler in New York City.  Shortly after his birth, the family moved to the Lower East Side (Avenue A and 4th Street) where he learned about the hard scrabble life of the streets.  Due to Irving’s ill health, they moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, where, during high school, he became involved in trying to integrate the football team, earning him (and his friends) praise from Eleanor Roosevelt.

At the University of Chicago, where he studied linguistics, he met Suzanne Dana Troy. After college, Burt and Suzanne married and moved to Houston, TX where their two children, Erika Robin and Adam Troy, were born.  In 1959, Burt was accepted at Boston University for graduate studies in Psychology and the family moved to Brookline, MA. Tragically, soon after arriving, Suzanne passed away, leaving Burt a single parent.  Two years later, he met and married Michal Frank,  another grad student.

During his graduate school years Burt worked on a study of the psychotherapeutic uses of psychotropic drugs, including LSD.  The study was led by Richard Alpert ( known later in the 60's as Baba Ram Das) and Timothy Leary, who gained fame for his LSD advocacy.

In 1963, the family moved to Vergennes, Vermont, where Burt took a position at the Weeks School, the state reform facility for juvenile offenders.  There, Gideon Jacob, Burt and Michal's first child was born.

Burt conceived of an intensive therapeutic treatment center for young offenders aged 16-20.  In 1966, Burt’s second daughter, Rachel, was born and Lakeside Center was established in Burlington, Vermont.  In 1968, Burt's youngest, Reuben Chaim, was born and one year later the family settled in Charlotte, Vermont.

In 1970, Burt and Michal set up a private practice as the first non-psychiatric psychotherapists in private practice in the state.  They established a clinic, The Center for Change, in South Burlington.  Sadly, in 1981, Michal, too, passed away.

Thirteen years later with his children grown and on their own, he sold most of his possessions and moved to Honduras where he met Sachiko Yoshida, a Japanese peace Corp worker.  They fell in love and were married in 1996.  They moved to Japan for a short time, then returned to Vermont, eventually settling in St. Johnsbury.

In addition to his work, Burt had a lifelong passion for playing poker, playing at casinos and in tournaments until very recently, and in reading books of all kinds.

He is survived by his wife Sachiko, his five children and their spouses: Erika Stoddert, Amy Bernstein (Adam), Constance Klipp (Gideon), Owen Walker (Rachel), and Deborah Greene (Reuben), eleven grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Friends may call on the family from 5-7PM Friday, October 7, 2016 or from 2-4PM and from 5-7PM on Saturday the 8th at  the Sayles Funeral Home, 525 Summer Street in St. Johnsbury.

A Memorial Donation to your local library may be made in Burt’s Honor.

Condolences may be shared with the family at www.saylesfh.com