EAST HARDWICK – Meredith Holch, 64, died suddenly while working in her yard in East Hardwick, on May 7. The cause of death was complications from polycythemia vera, a rare blood disorder.
Born and raised in Greenwich, Conn., she was a daughter of the late Arthur and Ellen Holch, and the sixth of seven siblings. A graduate of Greenwich High School, she earned a BA in French and Public Policy from Duke University (Magna Cum Laude), and received a MFA in Film/Video from Bard College.
An award-winning film maker specializing in stop-motion animation and video, Meredith’s work, which has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and PBS TV, centers on socially and politically relevant themes and local Vermont history. She was the recipient of two MacDowell artists colony resident fellowships in 2004 and 2009, and one at Millay Arts in 2011.
In early 2025, Meredith completed her final film “Brother Bird,” a moving trilogy about death and reincarnation symbolized through birds and nature, with a segment inspired by her late brother Chris. It was named Best Animated Film at the Made Here Film Festival (MHFF) co-produced by the Vermont International Film Festival and Vermont Public just weeks before her death.
In her 20s and throughout her life, Meredith performed and toured with Bread & Puppet Theater in Glover, thriving on its community of artists, musicians and performers, many of whom became lifelong friends and collaborators. She later settled in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, and was an active and charismatic presence in her community.
Channeling her boundless energy into a variety of jobs and projects in the area over the years, Meredith served as executive director of Hardwick Community Public Access TV, worked at the Vermont Council on Aging, organized and taught animation workshops for children and started a house painting business, to name a few. One of her many creative claims to fame among her vast network of friends was entering the annual Pumpkin Carving Contest in Barton, every year and invariably winning with her imaginative creations.
A doer, motivator, creator and adventurer, Meredith will be best remembered as upbeat, outspoken and confident, with a remarkable drive to excel at anything she did, from planting vegetables or learning the fiddle, to writing a novel or being there for family and friends when they needed her. She tackled everything with tenacity.
Predeceased by her parents, brother, a brother-in-law and niece, she is survived by her siblings and their spouses: Gregory, Hilary O’Neill, Milissa (Rick) Laurence, Jeremy (Tanya), and Allegra as well as three nieces and three nephews.
A memorial was held at Bread & Puppet on July 6 where hundreds of friends, colleagues and family gathered from near and far to celebrate a life well-lived, but far too short.
