Herman Ruegger

Herman Ruegger, a resident of East Rupert Vermont, Wellington Florida and until recently Essex Connecticut, died peacefully of natural causes in his sleep on May 14, 2021. Herman, or Mandi as his family and friends knew him, was born on March 20, 1925 in Zurich, Switzerland to parents Herman and Martha, and grew up in the town of Oberrieden on the Lake of Zurich. An avid skier from early childhood, while serving in the Swiss Army during World War II Mandi finished second in the Swiss Army downhill race, regarded as the national championship at the time. While Mandi rarely recounted his athletic or other achievements of his youth, among his fond memories from his wartime service were of guarding the fortunate prisoners of war happily spending the remainder of the War in neutral Switzerland. Mandi immigrated to the New York City area after the War and began a successful career in the yarn and knitting supplies industry, initially as a salesperson and later in management. Not long after arriving in the U.S., however, Mandi was drafted into the U.S. Army where he proudly served for two years. As a result of his fluency in five languages (German, French, Italian, Romansh and English), much of Mandi's time in the Army was spent near Paris, France as an interpreter and stenographer for post-war trials under the supervision of General Eisenhower. Before Mandi started his Army stint, he met the love of his life, Catherine Anne (Coco) McGovern, whom he married on October 20,1951. Mandi and Coco settled just north of New York City in Westchester County and later Fairfield County, raising a family of four sons, one daughter and many horses, dogs, cats and hamsters. Also, early in their marriage, Mandi and Coco discovered the winter joys of Vermont skiing and the summer pleasures of the Dorset Field Club where they have belonged for over 60 years. Mandi was also an avid boater, spending many summer weekends on Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River. Mandi is survived by his widow, Coco, a daughter Dorli Burke, four sons Arthur, William, Francis and Mark, eleven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. A private burial service was held at the Maple Hill Cemetery in Dorset.