Glen David Jardine

            Glen David Jardine, age 47, of Berry Hill Road in Sheffield, Vt., died at his home on Friday evening, Dec. 29, 2023.

Glen had specific wishes for crafting the language of his obituary. He wrote, When someone dies from cancer, everyone says, ‘He lost his battle with cancer.’ It makes sense when people say this and it’s always said in a loving yet sorrowful manner but people should know; I don’t feel like I lost my battle with cancer! I beat the hell out of cancer every single day for 5+ years. I didn’t let it ruin my time. I went to work, played and skied with my kids, coached them and enjoyed every single moment I had with my family.

He was born in St. Johnsbury, Vt., on Feb. 27, 1976, son of Rosemary “Posie” (Elwood) and the late David R. Jardine (Sept. 4, 2022). He grew up on Finney Hill in Lyndonville and loved exploring the area with his neighborhood friends.

Skiing all day and night at the Lyndon Outing Club was a big favorite, as well as Burke Mountain, and the summers at the family camp at Shadow Lake in Glover were much loved times. His hobbies and interests ranged from gardening (with an especially green thumb), to sports, music (especially live music), making people laugh and vacationing with his family.

Glen loved to entertain friends from an early age. He threw many legendary parties during his college years and quickly discovered that bartending was a way for him to show people a good time while getting paid and not being hung over the next day.

One night in 1996 or 1997, while working at the front door of The Packing House in Lyndonville, he slightly exaggerated his bartending experience to one of the owners. Unexpectedly busy and short-staffed, she quickly sent him to help behind the bar, and he never looked back, remaining on that side of the bar at the Packing House for 20 years, outlasting three different owners. While he often joked about the place and the wild stories he could tell, he credits that job with helping put him through college and introducing him to many of the greatest friends of his life, including his wife and the love of his life, Mary.

Glen graduated from Lyndon Institute with the Class of 1994. He played basketball, ran cross country, competed on the track & field team and played in LI’s first-ever soccer program, where he claims to have scored the school’s first-ever goal (Glen claimed a lot of things, and it was our job to separate fact from fiction). Unsurprisingly to those who knew him, he was known as a bit of a class clown.

He graduated from Lyndon State College in 2000 with a BS in Design and Graphic Communications. He’d always been an art lover who could be found doodling or carrying a camera loaded with black & white film to develop in the darkroom. He credits the Graphic Design program with giving him focus on his studies and showing him an academic path in which he could thrive.

His first job after college graduation was in Newport as a graphic designer, where he honed skills as a professional designer and an office prankster. He would go on to be quite proficient at both.

Glen joined the Caledonian-Record’s advertising department in 2003, where he helped the company sell and design advertising for their website, which at that time was still in its early stages. In his long career at the Caledonian, he applied his design skills and ideas for print ads, promotional materials, special editions, and more. He was a gifted advertising salesman and became the Director of Advertising. He was a talented promoter and helped create well-known events, including successful local high school sports awards banquets and talent shows featuring local youth.

He loved his work family and was extremely honored and proud to have been able to work at such an important area institution with a 185+ year history. Helping to keep The Caledonian-Record running and providing such an important service to the community was all the motivation needed to wake up and go to work every day.

Those who knew Glen knew him to be a die-hard fan of the Boston Red Sox. He would travel to Fenway Park upwards of 10 times a year some seasons and was known to go entire years without missing a single game on TV, Radio or in-person. This culminated in 2009 when the Boston Red Sox named Glen their official “Vermont Governor of Red Sox Nation.” He loved this role, helping connect the fans of Vermont with the organization and helping the organization with events and charitable endeavors in Vermont. For many years he could be found on Fenway’s infield hobnobbing with the Governor of Vermont and the players on “Vermont Day.” He had a cameo in the documentary “Green Mountain Dreamers” about Vermont Red Sox fans, and he could have been featured more prominently in the documentary, but he instead directed the production team to a terminally ill lifetime Sox fan who he thought was more deserving of the attention. In February 2014, he achieved the ultimate goal of his tenure as Governor when he brought the Red Sox 2004, 2007 and 2013 World Series trophies to his alma mater, Lyndon Institute. Hundreds of Red Sox fans from all over the Northeast Kingdom flocked to the school to meet “Wally The Green Monster” and take their photos with the trophies. He was especially proud that he could do this for the people of his home area.

The number one love of Glen’s life were his children, Irie & Quinn. He often noted that he had never truly understood love until the day he first held his child. He wanted them always to know that they were the reason he left this world content, feeling like the Luckiest Man ever to have lived. Though the years they had together weren’t great in number, he felt they were the greatest years of his life.

He is survived by his companion, partner, and beloved wife of 12 years, Mary (Hever) Jardine, and their beautiful children, Irie Grace and Quinn David Jardine, all of Sheffield; his mother, Posie Jardine of Lyndonville; his brother, Stephen Jardine and his wife, Tonja, of Lyndonville.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2023, at the Lyndon Bible Church on Brown Farm Road, with Rev. Joel Battaglia officiating. Interment will take place privately in the spring at the Lyndon Center Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made in Glen’s name to the Lyndon Outing Club, P.O. Box 112, Lyndonville, VT 05851.

Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at guibordfh.com