Wendy Gartner Rowland

Wendy Gartner Rowland of South Londonderry, VT and Marblehead, MA , died on November 25th at her home in South Londonderry. She was born on January 5, 1936 in Trenton, NJ, the daughter of the late John Winter Gartner and the late Mary Blackwell Gartner. She attended Princeton Day School and graduated from Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, CT and Smith College in 1958. She married Benjamin (Barry) Rowland in June, 1958, and she taught French at The Pike School, until they moved to Marblehead in 1959. Wendy was a member of Eastern Yacht Club and the Driftwood Garden Club in Marblehead. She was a softball coach for both of her daughters’ teams, as well as a Girl Scout leader, and volunteered in the Tower School library. She worked at Salem Savings Bank in Salem, MA in the 1970’s. After Barry’s retirement, they divided their time between Marblehead and South Londonderry, where they had a working dairy farm. Wendy opened her doors to her grandchildren at Camp Mimi (the farm) every summer. She generously supported Burr and Burton Academy and Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home., as well as many other non-profits, including The Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Mountain Valley Medical Clinic, and Princeton Day School. In 2008, she and Barry created The Rowland Foundation, which provides opportunities and the gift of time for visionary Vermont teachers (known as Rowland Fellows) to work in partnership with their principals to transform their schools. The Rowland Foundation received the highest national honor, a Distinguished Service Award for Service to Upper Education, in 2018. Through her generosity and vision, Wendy has left a legacy to the youth and teachers of Vermont and beyond. Wendy was predeceased by her husband, Barry, in 2018, after celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. She is survived by her daughters, Heidi Lynn and her husband, Michael of Dorset, VT and Sandy Sullivan and her husband, Vince of Ballard, CA, and four grandchildren, Carter and Myles Rawson and Kelsey and Sara Sullivan. She also is survived by her brother, John Gartner of Cranbury, NJ and her sister, Sandy Gartner of Lander, Wyoming. She was predeceased by her sister, Barbara Parker of Medford, MA in 2011. A Memorial Service will be held on Monday, December 23rd at 11 AM at the First Congregational Church in Manchester, VT. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial gifts to Princeton Day School, P.O. Box 75, Princeton, NJ 08542, or Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284.