Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for the Winooski News
For years as director of the Winooski Senior Center, Roland Dion would round up volunteers to deliver food to folks in need. When he couldn’t find any, he’d go out himself — and sometimes bring his kids along, remembers his daughter, Jennifer Dion Stearns.
“I remember being a little scared about it,” she said. “He would always make me feel like, ‘Hey, it’s okay. They just need some help.’”
Dion, known for his nearly four decades of work for the City of Winooski as well as for community-wide volunteering efforts, died unexpectedly in his sleep Aug. 25. He was 84.
To express the city’s gratitude, officials are putting plans in motion to honor Dion with a plaque inside the Winooski Senior Center. In a unanimous resolution in October, city councilors acknowledged that Winooski had “greatly benefitted from his dedicated work and effective leadership,” and that Dion’s impact made the city “a better place for years to come.”
According to Winooski Mayor Kristine Lott, former city councilor Michael Myers came up with the plan. He made a public comment at a council meeting, suggesting the city take action to honor Dion’s legacy.
Dion was a people person from the start, his daughters said, beginning his working career in occupations intertwined with interacting with the community.
“I think that did start way back from when he was young,” said Jennifer Dion Stearns. “He worked at a grocery store, then he worked at the Boy Scouts. He was a swimming instructor and a lifeguard and worked with kids for a long time, and I think that’s where it all started.”
He was born in Winooski on Nov. 13, 1939, to parents Phillip and Rollande Dion. In 1968, he married Julie Mercure. The couple lived outside Vermont for a time when they were younger, then eventually moved to Winooski, settling on land that was owned by Dion’s grandfather. They had three daughters: Lizabeth Dion, who lives in Phoenix, and Jennifer and Rebecca, who both still live in Vermont.
Soon after the move, Dion’s tenure working with the city began.
He started off as a housing code enforcement officer and in the 1970s worked in the federal Model Cities Program. In 1979 he became the director of the Winooski Senior Center, where he developed innovative programs such as an Alzheimer’s support group, home meal delivery and tax assistance, according to the city.
Daughters Jennifer Dion Stearns and Rebecca Dion-Smith have fond memories of their father’s positive work at the senior center, as well as of tagging alongside him, learning how important it is to help others in one’s community.
“We’d go there frequently as young kids,” said Rebecca. “We’d help Dad, because Dad always wanted to show us the importance of helping others. That was a perfect situation to show us, being at the center. What my Dad did for all these individuals, keeping them active, keeping them social, making them feel a part of something. There was bingo every week, we’d help my Dad with dinners for the holidays. How they appreciated my Dad was amazing — such respect and love mutually there.”
Roland’s care and ability to communicate respectfully and genuinely with others was a large part of how he earned a community-wide network of friends.
“He had so many friends when he was the director of the senior center,” Jennifer said. “I mean, they were his friends — they weren’t just people he worked with, they were his friends. He was very much a people person.”
Throughout his nearly four decades of work and volunteering in Winooski, he used those connections to help establish successful programs, some of which are still prominent today. He was responsible for the senior center’s partnership with Age Well, establishing tax services for seniors, the aforementioned Meals on Wheels program and an annual volunteer appreciation dinner, as well as many more contributions.
“That’s what brings people in,” Lott, the mayor, said of Dion’s relationship-building in the community. “When he was establishing programming at the senior center, he was using his personal connections in the community to bring people into the space and to participate. He was consistently engaged outside of that role, too. He brought people together, made them aware of what’s available and encouraged more people to come together in that space.”
“Which allows many of our senior community members to build more connections,” she continued, “to be closer to more of their neighbors and have a space to go to meet new people and spend time outside of home with others.”
And it isn’t often community members will show up to new programs without an extra nudge, she said. “We can design all the programs we want, but if nobody is going out there and actually meeting people directly and talking to them, not very many will show up,” she said,
Dion wanted to help people, no matter their situation, his family says. He chose that lifestyle. Spending his Friday nights tidying up around the office, from vacuuming the place to cleaning the bathrooms, Roland did much more than his director duties required.
“He rolled up his sleeves and did what was needed to help people. He never complained about it ever,” Jennifer said.
Rebecca added on: “When I think about Dad, I think about how whatever he did, and whatever he said, it was so sincere, and you always felt that. You just really felt a connection because of how he interacted with you.”
Dion retired in 2010, dedicating his time to family and friends. He enjoyed being a grandfather to five grandchildren, cooking and hosting with his wife and regularly meeting with “the Lunch Bunch,” a group of friends in town. Regarding the plaque, the Winooski Senior Center submitted a quote request to a local vendor, and the project was expected to be completed within the next month or two.