In Remembrance: Kilborn Church ’51E Died on April 7 2017

Kilborn (Kil) Church, adored husband, admired father, engaging grandfather, skier, sailor, and pilot, passed away peacefully on April 7, 2017, at Cedar Hill in Windsor, Vermont.

Born in New Haven on September 29, 1925, to Adelaide Whitehouse Church and Heyliger Church (Yale Class of 1917), Kilborn grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and graduated early in order to serve in the Marine Corps in WWll, where he was stationed in the South Pacific. Upon returning stateside, Kil joined the class of 1951 at Yale University where he became a member of the Elihu Society, ‘lettered’ in football, completed a BS in mechanical engineering, and met Mary Patterson Fox of New Haven, the love of his life and his loving wife of 66 years. His uncle, Kortright Church, was Yale Class of 1916.

Kil’s professional career was spent at Fafnir Ball Bearing in New Britain, Connecticut, where he headed up the manufacturing division until his retirement in 1980. During this time, he and Mary had settled in Guilford, Connecticut, with their three children. Their Leetes Island residence of 25 years provided a setting for the family’s favorite activities: hiking, sailing, skiing, riding horses, and—once Kil had earned his pilot’s license—flying to places up and down the East Coast.

Once retired from Fafnir, he and Mary moved to Woodstock, Vermont, to expand their opportunities for skiing and set up a small manufacturing business, MFox & Co. In addition to growing the business, Kil always found time to volunteer; he loved meeting new people and giving back to others. His most significant volunteer contribution was with the Dartmouth Hitchcock Auxiliary, giving nearly 4,000 hours of service and receiving the Gold Star for his committed service as well as holding the position of president of the Volunteer Auxiliary.

Kilborn was predeceased by his son, Heyliger Fox Church. He is survived by his wife, Mary Fox Church, children, Kortright and Elizabeth Church, and grandchildren, Owen and Erin Church and Emily and Lauren Hadley.

A memorial service was held at St. James Episcopal Church in Woodstock on May 5th. The burial will be a private ceremony in Guilford, Connecticut.

Memorial contributions may be made in Kil’s name to the Thompson Senior Center, 99 Senior Lane Woodstock, VT 05091.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Cabot Funeral Home in Woodstock. An online guest book can be found at cabotfh.com.

—Submitted by the funeral home.