Matriarch of Vermont Country Store mail-order company dies at 99

Matriarch of Vermont Country Store dies at 99

WESTON, Vt. — Mildred Ellen Orton, who co-founded the Vermont Country Store mail-order company with her husband, has died.

Lyman Orton said his mother died at her home in Weston on Thursday at the age of 99.

Lyman Orton, who now owns the mail-order company with his three sons, said 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.

Orton also espoused the used of whole grains over white flour, writing the book “Cooking with Wholegrains” in 1947, which was published by Farrar Straus and will be republished this fall.

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