Friends, Legislators Mourn
Rep. ‘Rozo’ McLaughlin
By Sandy Cooch

Rosemary "Rozo" McLaughlin of South Royalton was struck down this week by an infection brought on by treatment for stomach cancer. She was running for election to her third term in the Vermont legislature.

Rep. Rosemary McLaughlin, known mostly as just "Rozo," died Monday night at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, following a 10-week battle against an aggressive cancer. She was 54.

McLaughlin, first elected to the legislature in 2002, was in the midst of an energetic reëlection campaign when she was diagnosed with abdominal cancer in August. (See other article.)

This week, accolades poured in for the life-long Royalton resident, described by friend Kathy Hassey as "an energy force in our community—a doer."

That energy was evident from an early age, noted John Dumville, who grew up in Royalton with her.

There were horses in the summer and skiing in the winter at the rope tow on the McLaughlin farm. Skiing became a lifelong love: "She could out-ski anybody," Dumville recalled.

For 30 years, McLaughlin ran the family horse farm—Hitching Post Farm—boarding horses, giving lessons, and running summer camps.

After years focused on the farm and raising her daughter, Katie Berk, McLaughlin "stepped bit by bit into public service," said Gaye Symington, speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives, in a statement this week.

McLaughlin had once told her, Symington said, that she considered public service a duty.

"We all receive the benefits of living in a community, so if we are able, we should give something to it as well," McLaughlin had said.

McLaughlin served on the Royalton school board and selectboard, before moving on to the statehouse in Montpelier.

Dumville worked alongside McLaughlin from 2000-03, when they both served on the Royalton Selectboard.

"She wasn’t afraid to take a stand on issues and would fight—fight them right through. She could be feisty," he recalled.

In the legislature, she threw herself into the work, with education and the environment her top personal issues.

As one of 22 Vermont delegates to the 2004 Democratic Convention in Boston, McLaughlin got to take the stage when she was tapped, along with another political newcomer, 19-year-old Jacob Crumbine of Norwich, to deliver the delegation’s 22 votes to presidential candidate John Kerry.

In the last legislative session McLaughlin focused on a farm to school" bill that provided outlets for farmers’ products and access to nutritious local food for students.

Rep. Patsy French of Randolph, who grew up with McLaughlin in Royalton, said "Rozo" worked doggedly on the bill, doing extensive behind-the-scenes work and research.

Kathy Hassey, another friend, recently recruited to politics by McLaughlin, noted that McLaughlin worked just as energetically in her home district, holding informational forums, meeting with constituents, and sending out an email newsletter on a regular basis.

McLaughlin’s political opponent for the past two elections, David Ainsworth, is also a Royalton native who grew up with McLaughlin. He had his own words of praise for her this week.

Although they did not agree politically, "There was never any animosity or negative feeling" between them, Ainsworth said.

"She was committed," he said. "She tried to do what was best."

An obituary for Rep. McLaughlin appears in the B-section of this week’s Herald.

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