Deborah Bethell Wroth

Deborah Bethell Wroth died on February 26, 2026, at her home in Sharon, Vermont. Befitting her life, her final days were filled with music and boundless love. She penned the following obituary, which leaves far too many things unsaid—but she was the boss lady, so we are publishing it the way she wrote it.

She was born on March 17, 1935, to John Warren Bethell and Elizabeth Johnson Bethell of South Essex, Mass., where she grew up with her two brothers, John and Thomas Bethell. Following graduation from Vassar College, she married Hiller Zobel, and they moved to Lexington, Mass., where their four children were born. Dee was active in the Lexington Civil Rights Society, participated in the 1963 March on Washington, and wrote a book about racial inequality in Boston. She also wrote a column for the Lexington Minuteman and sang in the Lexington Choral Society.

In 1973, following her marriage to L. Kinvin Wroth, she moved to New Gloucester, Maine, where she became the editor of the New Gloucester News and was a founding director of the Block House Nursery School. She was a member of the New Gloucester Historical Society and the Affirmative Action Committee of the local public school district. She coached varsity field hockey at Gray-New Gloucester High School and sang in the Portland Symphony’s Magic of Christmas concerts for seventeen years.

In 1998 the Wroths moved to Sharon, Vermont. Dee served on the Sharon Planning Commission for nine years, seven of those as chair, and was a reading mentor at Sharon Elementary School. She played steel drums as a member of The Panhandlers from 2002–2014.

She was predeceased by her parents; by her son John Zobel of Seattle; and by her brother Thomas Bethell of Washington, DC.

She is survived by her beloved husband and by three daughters, Katharine Wroth (Ryan Healey) of Mansfield, Mass., Elizabeth Zobel of Roslindale, Mass., and Sarah Zobel (James Feehan) of Essex Junction, Vt.; two sons, David Zobel of Rancho Mirage, Calif., and Thomas Calder of Paris, France; three stepdaughters, Caroline O’Leary (Robert) of Newton, Mass., Ann Wroth (Ann Pauley) of Arlington, Va., and Eliza Wroth of Marlborough, Mass.; and her brother John Bethell (Helen) of Manchester, Mass.

She is also survived by her twelve cherished grandchildren and Cousins Campers: Michael (Danielle), Nicholas (Katrina), Eric, Peter, Samuel, Thomas, James, William, Terri (Tiago), Cedar, Malcolm, and Anna; by two great-grandchildren, Jack and Olivia; and by many loving sisters-in-law, nieces, and nephews.

The family will hold a gathering at on March 21 at 3 p.m. at the Seven Stars Arts Center, Sharon, Vermont, and a memorial service on May 16 at 3 p.m. at the Wellesley Hills Congregational Church, 207 Washington Street, Wellesley, Mass. In lieu of flowers, please support local journalism or consider making a memorial gift to one of the local science museums Dee loved to explore with her grandchildren: the ECHO/Leahy Center for Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont (echovermont.org) or the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, Vermont (montshire.org).

Knight Funeral Home, White River Jct., VT, has been entrusted, online memories and condolences invited at www.knightfuneralhomes.com.