Brownsville, VT – Dusan "John" Plausteiner, 92, died unexpectedly Monday, July 13, 2026.

John was born October 31, 1933, in Maribor, Yugoslavia, a son of Ivan and Jana (Paternost) Plausteiner. He grew up there before attending high school in Stainz, Austria.

Following World War II, John's family was displaced before being sponsored by a family in Meriden, Connecticut. It was there that he met the love of his life, Lucille DeWolf. They were married on June 22, 1957, in Meriden, CT where they made their home before moving to Vermont.

An avid outdoorsman, John had a lifelong love of the mountains. His passion for skiing and mountain climbing led him to a position at Mount Snow, where he worked for 18 years, beginning as a Ski Patroller and advancing into management. He later accepted a position with the State of New York in Lake Placid, where he was hired to help develop trails, ski lifts and snowmaking needed for the 1980 Winter Olympics and later became the Manager of Whiteface. In 1993, John and his family moved to Brownsville and took over operations at the Ascutney Mountain Ski Resort. During the next 17 years, John masterminded many improvements and innovations at the resort before retiring to travel across the US.

John remained active throughout his life and was still skiing at the age of 92. In addition to skiing and mountain climbing, he was an accomplished rock climber, ice climber and spearfisherman. He also was actively involved with the Big Brother program in Windsor, where he enjoyed mentoring local youth.

John is preceded in death by his brother, Bronko Plausteiner.

He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Lucille Plausteiner; two sons, Steve Plausteiner and his wife, Susan, of Rangeley, Maine, and Timothy Plausteiner and his wife, Tammy, of Brownsville; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, July 24, 2026, at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Windsor. Knight Funeral Home in Windsor has been entrusted with arrangements. Condolences may be expressed in an online guestbook at www.knightfuneralhomes.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the West Windsor Volunteer Fast Squad, P.O. Box 473, Brownsville, VT 05037.