Marie Vojta

Marie Elaine Vojta of the St. Johnsbury House passed away Friday, Sept. 4, 2015, at the age of 98. She was born May 25, 1917, in New Britain, CT. and was the daughter of Clark H. and Clara Belle (Jones) Cummings. She married John Vojta on Sept. 5, 1953; he predeceased her in 2003 (days before their 50th wedding anniversary).
In 1988, Marie and John moved to St. Johnsbury to be near family and resided on Idlewood Terrace. For the past 8 years, Marie resided happily at the St. Johnsbury House, and enjoyed the enduring friendships made there.
Marie lived a full and adventurous life. Her passions included children, reading, travel, speed, music and the performing arts, crafts, volunteering and her family. She and John enjoyed numerous road trips across the country, and Marie visited friends and family and participated in the tours organized by the St. J. House whenever the opportunity presented itself. As a teenager, she was fond of motorcycles, and in her early 90's she relished the dare-devil speed on her airboat ride through the Everglades in Florida, and taking a ride on top of a crane to get a bird's eye view of the town. Broadway shows, dancing to Big Band icons at the Pleasure Beach Ballroom in Connecticut, and dinner theater and musical performances by artists such as Johnny Cash and Tom Jones were frequent activities. An avid crafter, she honed skills in ceramics, rug hooking, counted cross stitch and painting.
During WWII, Marie supported the war effort packing bullets at Remington Arms in Bridgeport, CT. She was always interested in the activities of her children and, over the years, opened her home to numerous family members when they were in need of a place to live. She often said, "We may have been poor, but we always had a house full of laughter." Marie was a foster mother to countless newborns, often provided child care to neighborhood children and was a crossing guard for the Fairfield, CT school district. After moving to St. Johnsbury, she became a reading mentor at the Frank R. Adam's school. She enjoyed participating in the activities of her local granddaughters and later her great grandchildren, Danielle Locklin and David and Amelia Evans.
After moving to St. Johnsbury, Marie was the quintessential volunteer. She provided her services at the voting polls, information center and welcome center, Adult Day Care (cooking lunch), the blood bank, Life Line, RSVP, NVRH, and as a docent at the Athenaeum.
Marie is survived by four children, William Reynolds of St. Johnsbury and his family, Judy Reynolds of Phoenix Arizona, and her sons Scott and Shawn Kurmay and their families, David and Nancy Reynolds of St. Johnsbury and their children Carrie (& Shawn) Locklin of St. Johnsbury, Megan (& Jeremy) Goyet of So. Burlington, and Brynn (& Dave) Evans of Barnet and their families, and John S. Vojta of Wheelock; granddaughters Dawn Farrell and Susan Santoro and their families in Connecticut and Robin Waleski in California; numerous great-grandchildren; several great great-grandchildren; daughter in law, Darline Reynolds of Fairfield, CT. and nieces and nephews. In addition she is survived by a special foster daughter, Andrea Beaupre of Missouri and special friend Angie Creser of Bridgeport, CT.
In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by her son Gerald "Bud" Reynolds in 2013 and niece Geraldine "Geri" Smith.
There will be a Memorial service celebrating Marie's life at the St. Johnsbury House on Saturday, Sept. 12th at 2 PM with the Rev. Douglas S. Moore officiating, followed by a time of fellowship. All who wish to attend are welcome. The private committal will be at the convenience of the family. She will be buried next to her husband John at Mount Calvary Cemetery. Donations in her memory may be made to the St. Johnsbury House Activity Fund (c/o Evangeline Guertin) and the St. Johnsbury Meal Site, both at 1207 Main Street.