Matilda Bowen Romaine White
Lebanon, NH – On May 8, 2026, Matilda White died of pneumonia at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital. She was 84. Manhattan born, raised in the city and on Cape Cod, she developed a love of small boat sailing and all things salty. After marriage to Stu in 1963, the couple moved to Cambridge MA. Son Cleveland was born in 1968, and they moved to Hanover when Stu joined Roy Banwell’s architectural firm. Daughter Laura arrived in 1971. In 1975 the family moved to Norwich into their experimental solar house. Always a lover of nature, she became a serious environmentalist and took delight in hanging the family wash on the line.
Coming from a musical family, Tilda spent 8 years at the Diller-Quaile School of Music, while also attending the Chapin School grades 1-12. In NY she sang with the St. James Church Junior Choir, The Blue Hill Troupe, and the Canterbury Choral Society. At Bradford Junior College, she was Glee Club president. In the Upper Valley, she sang with Opera North Chorus, Handel Society, Collegium Musicum, Dartmouth Madrigalists, Bel Canto, Revels, and the Norwich Congregational Church Choir. Learning guitar at beach parties on the Cape in the ’60s, she became an enthusiastic “folkie.”
On a delayed honeymoon to Greece in 1965, Tilda marveled at the island weavers and told Stu, “That’s something I would like to do!” That Christmas a loom appeared and she never looked back. In Norwich she formed Happy Hill Creations, a very small business, short on profits and long on beauty. A spinner and dyer, her work was celebrated in a show at Kendal in 2020 featuring blankets, tapestries, throws, mittens, hats and sweaters. The show sold out. She taught a popular knitting class at Dartmouth’s mini-versity and at the Yarn Shop in Norwich.
During the ’80’s, Tilda served 2 terms as Commodore of her small yacht club in West Falmouth MA, one of the first women anywhere to serve in that capacity.
Her interest in Early Childhood Education led to teaching in NYC and Cambridge. As an aide in the Hanover schools, she had a special gift with kids who needed extra help or were a little too rambunctious, finding a way to turn that energy in a positive direction. She retired from teaching in 1988 when her son became ill, beginning an eight-year mission that required her full attention. Clevie died of ALS in 1996.
Tilda is survived by her devoted husband of 63 years, Stu. She took great joy in her young family in Vershire, VT: Laura, Markus and the 3 grands: Maija (27), Charlie (25) and David (19). Her generous spirit and limitless empathy were legendary. For Tilda, it didn’t matter where you came from or what you believed (or didn’t believe); you were accepted. Recently, declining health limited in-person social contact, but she wore out her little electronic device to stay connected with family and friends, and her church. Her loss will be deeply felt by many. Donations can be made to The Norwich Congregational Church Mission fund and Health Care and Rehabilitation Services (HCRS) of southeastern Vermont.
An on-line guestbook can be found at rand-wilson.com
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