Vanna Rose (DeMaio) Guldenschuh

Vanna Guldenschuh passed away suddenly at a family gathering on Christmas Eve. As her health declined during the past several years, she was adamant that she wanted to die at home and not in a care facility or hospital. At her brother and sister-in-law’s home that night, she was surrounded by people who loved her and felt privileged to witness her passing.

She grew up in Hamden, CT. She attended Sacred Heart Academy and after several tenacious years of scholarship she graduated with a degree in psychology from Southern Connecticut State University. She had a gift for working with children with mental disabilities. 

In 1971 she married John (Jack) Guldenschuh. They first traveled to Alaska where Jack explored the possibility of a career in environmental science. They then lived and worked in Jack’s hometown of Rochester, New York. Eventually they moved to Vermont where Vanna had purchased a piece of land along with her brother, Sal DeMaio. From there they went to live in Hamden again where they oversaw the management of the DeMaio family’s restaurant, The Weathervane. 

She returned to Vermont after the restaurant closed, working for HeadStart and as the advertising director for New England Farmer for several years. Around the mid 1980’s she became Caroline’s partner at Northern Lights Bookshop, expanding it into a bookstore and café. To this day, she received requests for her recipes. Her recipe for eggplant parmigiana is the best. It calls for a light sauteing of the eggplant in flour and egg, with no breading. The sauce is nearly raw and there is no heavy cheese, not mozzarella or ricotta, only a small amount of parmigiano Reggiano. She baked it for only 20 minutes. The recipe sternly warns against overdoing any of the typical eggplant techniques or additions. Again, it is the best. Her recipes were shared in The NorthStar Monthly. After Northern Lights Bookshop and Café closed in 2003, she ran the Good Living Senior Center in St. Johnsbury. 

Her love of animals was reflected by the fact that none of her many dogs, cats or one workhorse was ever mean spirited. She treated them all with great kindness and they reciprocated. 

Her husband, Jack, died in 2019. She is survived by her older sister Letitia Lattanzi and her younger brother, Salvatore DeMaio (Caroline). Vanna was very close to her nephews Pasquale (Keri) and Henry DeMaio, Robert Lattanzi (Effie), Dina Bonzek, Mark Lattanzi (Renata), and Wendy Zimmer. She also loved her great nieces and nephews, Alessa, Randy, Claire, Ava, Taryn, Maggie and Jake. She was particularly close to her friend and caregiver, Gerry Dougherty. She had many friends too numerous to mention.

Vanna will be cremated, and a spring celebration of her life will be planned.

As these holidays pass, there is no doubt that she would wish everyone the happiness that she always would share during this season.