SOUTH WOODBURY – Gaie Bates St. John was born in Morrisville, to Percival Bates and Enna Morey Bates, on July 30, 1937. She passed peacefully from this earth at her home in South Woodbury on November 17.
Gaie grew up in Enosburg and graduated from Enosburg High. She enrolled in Becker College and graduated with an associate’s degree in journalism. She worked as a reporter for the Burlington Daily News, then later as an administrative assistant for UVM, and the Vermont Dept. of Fish & Game. In 1974 she co-founded the TLC child development center in Montpelier with her sister.
In 1978 she graduated from Goddard College with a degree in early childhood development. In 1986 she started teaching at Johnson Elementary School, where she also ran the gifted and talented program for several years. She completed her master’s degree while she was the principal at Woodbury Elementary School and retired in 1999.
She was an avid yard saler and spent many years of her retirement as owner/operator of the Old Friends antique shop in Hardwick. Gaie loved to garden and enjoyed puttering around her back yard. She enjoyed winters in her Lake Worth, Fla., winter home. She was a voracious reader, often going through seven or eight books a week. She loved dogs, cats and all living creatures.She is survived by her husband, Daniel, a son and daughter from a previous marriage: Patrick Malone of Maple Corners and Shannon Bates of Montpelier, sisters Bonnie Holmquest of Charleston, S.C., and Rosie Oswald of Hiawassee, Ga., as well as several nieces and nephews. A celebration of life will be held at a future date. Memories and condolences are welcome at dgfunerals.com.