Matriarch of The Vermont Country Store mail order company dies at home at age 99

Matriarch of The Vermont Country Store dies at 99

WESTON, Vt. — The Vermont Country Store mail order company co-founder Mildred Ellen Orton has died at age 99.

Lyman Orton says his mother died Thursday at her home in Weston.

Lyman Orton now owns the mail order company with his three sons. He says his mother did the paperwork and bookkeeping for more than 30 years for the company she and her husband, Vrest (VEE’-rest), started in 1946.

The catalog offers kitchen wares, clothing, home remedies and long-forgotten brands.

Mildred Ellen Orton espoused the use of whole grains over white flour. She wrote the book “Cooking with Wholegrains,” which was published in 1947 and will be republished this fall.

She is survived by her son, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

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