By the Family

Apr. 6, 2016:  Louise Bristol Ransom was born on November 23, 1921, in New York City, and died peacefully in Shelburne, Vermont, on December 10, 2015, with her sons nearby. She was the daughter of Lawrence and Bell Bristol of Pelham, New York.  

Louise lived a long, active life, having had a positive impact on the many projects that she undertook and on any community in which she lived. Louise was a graduate of the Brearley School in New York and Vassar College. She also attended the University of Wisconsin. She was predeceased by her husband, Robert C. Ransom, who died in 1986.  

During World War II, she served as an information officer for the exiled Philippine government and then began raising a family while Bob was in the Army in Europe. 

After the war, she lived in New Haven and Pasadena before settling in Bronxville, where she lived from 1948 until 1980. While raising six sons in Bronxville, Louise was a member of the Junior League and participated in many social service activities. She was also a founder of the Bronxville Skating Club and The Loft, an after-school drama and arts education center for elementary through high school students.  

Following the death in 1968 of her oldest son, Robert C. ("Mike") Ransom, Jr., in Vietnam, Louise began an extensive effort to address the many issues arising from America's involvement in the Vietnam War. She was active in the peace movement as a Gold Star Mother, and when the war was drawing to a close she became active in the effort to gain adoption of universal, unconditional amnesty for those whose conscience had led them to express their opposition to the war in a variety of ways. 

She gave a memorable speech at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, placing the name of a draft resister in nomination for vice president of the United States. 

She was hired by the United Council of Churches to direct a project funded by the U.S. Department of Labor to address the difficulties that incarcerated Vietnam veterans faced in obtaining employment upon their release from prison.

She later worked as director of volunteers for the Vermont Department of Corrections. She believed for fifty years that Mike had died a senseless death and that her government's war effort in Vietnam was wrong and immoral. One great regret was that she was unable before her death to finish the memoir that she was writing about her years in the peace movement.  

In 1980, Louise and Bob moved to Williston, Vermont, and in 1985 Louise and several friends founded a local newspaper, the Williston Whistle. A lifelong history buff, Louise also became an active volunteer and fundraiser in the effort to open to the public the remains of Fort Independence, near Orwell, Vermont. 

In 1990 Louise was recognized by Governor Kunin as an "Extraordinary Vermonter" for her activities in the state exemplifying a belief in community and a sense of social justice. She had served on the Vermont Bicentennial Commission and the Mount Independence finance committee and was a founding member of Wake Robin, where she lived from 2001 until her death.  

For her entire life, Louise was a volunteer extraordinaire, a community organizer, a peace and political activist, a journalist, a business woman--and more. She was a doer and a leader, and she inspired others to do and lead as well, always with energy, good humor, and focus. 

While known for her many projects and goals, and her never ending efforts to improve the lives of the ever-enlarging communities of which she was a part, she was lovingly devoted to her family and numerous friends. While she would want to be remembered as an activist, it was even more important to her to be remembered as the loving and loyal wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend to her friends that she was. 

Although occupied by her numerous political, civil rights, social service, and cultural activities, Louise always found time for her six sons and their families. She was actively involved in their education and in their extra-curricular and athletic activities. 

A lifelong tennis player, Louise taught all her sons to play the game and taught them all to ski (until they passed her by on the slopes).

Louise is survived by her five sons, Larry (Seattle), Mark (Honolulu), Matthew and John (New York City), and Daniel (Dorset, Vermont). She is also survived by five grandchildren, five great grandchildren, and her sister.  

A memorial service will be held on April 23 at 2:00 pm at Wake Robin in Shelburne, Vermont.