Victor Acebo

Our father, Victor Acebo, a life long resident of Barre, passed away August 9, 2020, just 15 days short of his 96th birthday at the Vermont Veteran’s Home in Bennington, VT. Dad was the sixth of nine children born to Fermin Acebo Casar and Elvira Lastra Gomez who emigrated from Mirones, Cantabria, Spain and raised nine children on River Street in Barre of which our Dad was the last surviving mem-ber. Dad met our Mom, Marilyn Villa McCormick, at a dance, the hot spot for social interactions in the 1940s. They carried on this long distance romance through the war and when he returned were married January 19, 1946, in Middlesex, VT. They lived for three years with mom’s stepfather and mother in Shady Rill before buying their first home on Farwell Street in Barre. Later they purchased a residence on Maple Avenue, before moving to Balsam Drive on Trow Hill. At thirteen he left school to help support the family during the Great Depres-sion and worked for Fumagalli’s bakery on Granite Street. This greatly helped the family because his father had returned to Spain in 1935 and died fighting for the Re-public in the Spanish Civil War in 1937. Like many young men in Barre he entered the military during the Second World War serving in the Army Air Force and was called up again during the Korean Conflict. He did his training for the Second World War in Greensboro, NC and was sent to New Guinea and Okinawa in the Pacific Theatre. Later in peace-time, he served in the Vermont National Guard. Growing up I heard few stories about the war, but as he aged; he acknowledged more his participation with a sense of pride. If you saw him during the last twenty years his head was always enhanced with his blue World War II/Korea hat adorned with ribbons and pins from the war, especially the glider unit he served with. Because of this, he be-came a very active member in VFW in Barre serving in an elected capacity and the American Legion to a lesser extent. Dad started working at Brown’s Dry Cleaners in Montpelier, which was then located on the present day site of the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier. Later he worked for Howe’s Cleaners in Barre and eventually became a part owner of the business. After fifty-five years in the business he had acquired a vast knowledge of the industry and was sought after by others for his expertise in opening and operating theirs. He especially loved traveling to the valley in Waitsfield or to Northfield delivering dry cleaning and linen to Sugarbush, Mad River Glen, hotel/motel establishments and Norwich University. There he established many relationships with his gregarious personality. Dad identified himself by his work ethic, which began at the bakery on Granite St. He left school after eighth grade and did not attend high school, though Spaulding High School honored those who served in the war with a diploma. He was a “go getter” finding a way to earn extra money for his family by buying used skis from the Valley and reselling them or working with his brother Rich-ard (Red) building fixtures for the new business, Harry’s Discount. In his spare time he enjoyed deer hunting with his brothers, lots of stories here, and later in his 50’s discovered golf and loved playing with Norm, Sully, and Bob, probably more stories there. And of course he enjoyed following the Boston Red Sox, for which he was known to encourage on TV with rather colorful lan-guage. Dad is survived by his son Philip and wife Cynthia Wark-Acebo, Ronda, Spain/Barre, his daughter, Joanne Acebo Tipton and husband Tom, Portland, OR, four grandchildren, Benjamin Tipton and Jessica Tipton Portland, OR, Landen Wark-Acebo and wife Lauren Fuentes, Scituate, MA, Baleigh Wark-Acebo, Denver, CO, and three great-grandchildren Lillian and Amelia Dekle and Elena Fuentes Acebo. He was predeceased by his wife, Marilyn McCormick Acebo in 2016, his par-ents, and all his siblings, Fermin, Joseph, Angelina, Victor Matais, Mary, Rich-ard (Red), Alexander (Tino), and Luis. There will be no formal service or calling hours due to Covid-19, and the in-urnment will be private. We would like to thank the following facilities that managed Dad’s care for the past five years, the staff at Lincoln House, Marie and Larry Fortier, at Fortier’s Community Care Home, both in Barre, and the staff at the Vermont Veteran’s Home in Bennington, VT. Lastly the Veterans’ Administration provided primary care for our father in Florida and White River Jct., VT. The doctors and staff administered excellent quality care to him for many years for serving his country which helped main-tain his quality of life. Memorial contributions may be made to the Vermont Veterans’ Home, c/o Hanson Walbridge & Shea Funeral Home 213 West Main St. Bennington, VT 05201