Floyd W. Van Alstyne, Jr., 105, died peacefully at his home in East Barnard on Friday, May 9 surrounded by his family.
Floyd was born on Feb. 29, 1920 in Boston, Mass. the son of Floyd W. and Mary French (Smith) Van Alstyne. After spending his very early childhood in Massachusetts, Floyd’s family moved to Albany, N.Y. After his mother died in 1931, he and his younger brother Earl came to Vermont to live with their mother’s sister Maude on Broad Brook in Royalton, Vt.
Floyd began his World War II service with the U.S. Army just after Pearl Harbor. He spoke many times of his duty and travels. Floyd served with the 389th Port Battalion in Churchill, Hudson Bay, Canada. He served in North Africa and in the Allied Invasion of Italy at Sicily. He was in the amphibious landing at Salerno and was in the Battle of Anzio, which was one of the toughest battles of World War II. He also served at the Port of Naples loading and unloading ships.
Floyd purchased the farm in East Barnard just three weeks after coming home at the end of WWII and began farming. He married Marjorie Leavitt on Feb. 15, 1948. After selling the dairy herd in the 1960s, he worked construction. Some of the many projects he worked on as a bulldozer operator were building ponds, clearing the trail for the tram at Jay Peak and Interstate 89 and 91. He spent many years sugaring, logging, raising beef cattle and operating a custom sawmill.
Floyd loved to tell stories, and he had many. He would always talk with people he did not know and would often find connections with them. Such as the time Robert stopped at the farm for lumber and while visiting, he found out that Robert’s uncle was the captain of the liberty ship Booker T. Washington that Floyd came home from World War II on. They have been good friends ever since. He loved talking about and reading history and was very much a constitutionalist. If you do an online search for Floyd Van Alstyne, you will find a number of stories and videos that have been done about him over the years.
Floyd served in many civic positions in the Town of Barnard. He helped start the Broad Brook Fire Department in the 1950’s. He was a proud member of American Legion Post 24 in Woodstock.
He is survived by his wife of 77 years, Marjorie; his five children, daughters Mary Croft, Deborah Hewitt, Marlene Rand; sons Greyling (Nikki) and Clay (Karen); 12 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. Along with his parents, he is predeceased by his brother Earl, a grandson Dennis, great-granddaughter Paige and son-in-laws Rodney Croft, Robert Rand and Denny Hewitt.
A graveside service will take place on Sunday, June 8 at 1 p.m. at the East Barnard Cemetery, after which family and friends are invited to the East Barnard Community Hall to celebrate Floyd’s life.
Those wishing may make contributions in his memory to the East Barnard Community Hall, Checks can be written to EBCC with a memo that the donation is in Floyd’s memory and mailed to: Scott Cone, Treasurer 5639 Broad Brook Road, So. Royalton, VT 05068 or American Legion Post 24, PO Box 365, Woodstock, VT 05091.
An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.
