Laurie Croot Newton

Laurie Croot Newton ended a seven-year struggle with ovarian cancer on April 18. Until the very end, Laurie emerged from every struggle even stronger and more determined to live life to the fullest. Laurie was born in Hartford, Conn. on April 24, 1958 to Darrel and Helen (Hamilton) Croot. She was raised in Stamford, Conn. and graduated from Westhill High School. She attended Bates College in Maine, where she met lifelong friends, nicknamed “The Group." She graduated with a degree in mathematics and spent a year teaching math in Lugano, Switzerland. In the early 1980s she moved to southern Vermont, where she taught math. Shortly thereafter she began a 35-year career with Mount Snow where she worked in marketing, administration and most recently as vice president of planning and permitting. In this role she traveled throughout Asia and the Middle East to secure funding for the Westlake snowmaking project and the new Carinthia base lodge. Both personally and professionally, she made a positive impact and many friends throughout Deerfield Valley and the world. Laurie loved sports. At various points in her life, she ran track and played golf, field hockey, softball, basketball, and volleyball. It was through a volleyball league she met the love of her life, George Newton. They married in 1998 and she was blessed to become part of his family. Laurie loved children and was known as "Aunt Laurie" to many of her friends' children, and she and George hosted "Fresh Air" children for many summers. She loved camping, boating and snow and water skiing and at one point she either water or snow skied every month for seven years. She played and taught handbells at her church. She also enjoyed traveling, both in the U.S. and internationally, and visited more than 35 countries. She especially loved Lake George N.Y., where she and George rented a house for a couple of weeks in the summers, often joined by members of their extended family. Laurie is survived by her husband George; her parents; her sister Andrea Banyas and her husband Joe; her brother Gary and his wife Jennifer Croot; her nephews Noah, Nicholas, and Nathan, who called her "Auntie;" her nieces Emily and Abigail and by George’s sons, daughters, and their children. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Newfane Congregational Church, PO Box 27, Newfane, Vermont, 05345, the Izzy Foundation (https://theizzyfoundation.org) or the FUND for Lake George (https://www.fundforlakegeorge.org). A celebration of life service will be held at a later date.