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Celebrating Family And Service To Others With Kitty Oxholm

photo by provided

photo by provided

photo by provided

photo by provided

photo by provided

Tuesday January 16, 2018

By Cookie Steponaitis

Kitty Oxholm was excited about her 80th birthday. Her children and grandchildren were in town from Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Arlington, Massachusetts and the whole group was headed out for dinner and that is when a text came from a friend she had not seen in quite some time and was eating a meal at American Legion Post # 14. Not one to stand up a friend, Kitty and her family drove over to say hello and visit for a quick bit. What Kitty did not know was she was going to see more than an old friend and the gathering at the American Legion included her brother Fred and sister- in-law, nephew Ryan, her children Kristy, Steve and Scot and a large group of people representing all cross sections of her personal and political life. Unbeknownst to Kitty, there was a party and one that totally caught her by surprise. “I am told I had quite the stunned look on my face,” shared Kitty. “My kids had been working on this for a month and only got word out by Facebook and word of mouth. The cold had kept me at home for lately and anyone who knew made not one slip up. I truly had absolutely no idea what was coming.” Used to being the midst of events and planning, Kitty was caught off guard by a wonderful celebration of a life of family and service to others.
    Kitty was born in Hannibal, Missouri and grew up with a father who was mayor and a house where the events shaping America were the topic at the dinner table. Kitty, the older of two and brother Fred grew up learning about the almost mythical stories of Samuel Clemens, Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer and the events celebrating life along the Mississippi while hearing and watching local and municipal politics unfold. While those seem distant memories now, this upbringing did in fact lay the foundation for a career in service to others and one that has not slowed up that much even today. Starting off her professional life in Business and Economics, Kitty attended college in Missouri and moved to the nation’s capital to accept a position working with the U.S. Department of Labor. It was there that she met her partner for life John Oxholm in 1959. They dated and married in 1959 and it was apparent quickly that the pair was destined to be together a very long time.
    Moving almost immediately after their wedding to New York City, then Denver, Colorado and eventually the Champlain Valley in 1966 when John accepted an engineering position at General Electric, the Oxholm children were added to the family with Kristy born in New York City, Steve in Denver and Scot in Burlington. Both Kitty and John were busy with careers and family, and had avid hobbies including auto racing and skiing. “It would probably surprise people to know I was part of the pit crew during John’s racing. Now don’t get all excited about me changing tires or oil; I was the timer and kept the team on pace for the fast changes required.”
    Coming to Vermont opened up many different pathways for the couple and Kitty started substituting at VUHS and fell in love with education. Beginning her thirty-two year career in ANWSU as a reading teacher and then moving into special education and eventually serving as the District Special Education Director, Oxholm found that the constant of her entire career was three basic precepts about working with youth. “Students needed someone to listen to them, understand and respect how they learned and to work with them accordingly,” explained Oxholm. While there is no doubt Public Law 94-142 The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act passed in 1975 is the single greatest change in public education during Oxholm’s tenure and shaped how early intervention, special education and services to children with disabilities would be carried out, Oxholm saw the teamwork of the educational professionals as the critical link to helping children become successful and lifelong learners.
    Following the model, she saw growing up; Kitty also served seven years on the Vergennes City Council and four years as the Mayor of the Little City. Her children Kristy, Scot and Steve grew up with the kitchen table being a place of discussion, debate and information about issues small and large in the running of the city and nation. “Truth be told, my passion and first love is municipal government,” explained the long-time civic leader. “It is much easier at a municipal level to get to know the people you are working with those you are elected to serve. You can meet with them, get back to them and see results quicker than at a state and of course national level.” What struck Oxholm the most was not the ferocity of personal positions or the complexity of the issues that they faced but the willingness of the group to meet and work until a decision or middle ground was found. For Oxholm there were issues that fell along political lines, but the bottom line was always the needs of the people and the vision for the town she served.
    Oxholm stepped down from her career in education in the early 2000’s and looked at retirement as a chance to impact more and be involved in the increasingly complex world of public and state government. Serving a Mayor of Vergennes from 2000-2004 and a term in the Vermont Legislature from 2007-2008, Kitty continued to diversify and increase her civic engagement to include government office and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Addison County Counseling Service, Board of Directors of the Bixby Library and member and president of the Vergennes Lions Club. “I have always simply tried to make a difference by having people work together,” shared Kitty. “Vermont is a small state and the benefit of knowing and working with people all over the state lends to help increase success in reaching consensus and setting goals across the spectrum.” Husband John was also incredibly active as a civic leader and was instrumental in the development of Townline First Response and served on the National Ski Patrol. Unfortunately, a tragic accident took John in 1992 and left Kitty to carry on.
    With her children and grandchildren as the center of her heart, Kitty Oxholm has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. In fact, the birthday party seems to even have supercharged her already legendary spirit to serve others. Not surprisingly, each of her children have their incredible commitment to service and have careers including years in education, twenty-plus years of military service and law enforcement and safety and corporate involvement directly benefitting the lives of people every day. To those who feel they do not have time or the skills to serve others, Kitty Oxholm has some solid advice. “Do what you can at this point in your life,” shares the civic leader. “Every single person on this planet has their own gifts and cannot only share them but can and will make a difference.” This call to service comes from one with a lifetime of proof and who is still involved at multiple levels of community life. The Valley Voice celebrates the 80th birthday of Kitty Oxholm and congratulates her children for pulling off a surprise on a woman that nothing gets by. The paper will check in again on her 90th to see if the element of surprise is again possible and how many more have benefitted from the tireless efforts of one woman who knows first-hand that change begins with people who listen, discuss and reach consensus.

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