Kathryn (Kit) Herdman Wilson, (102) died peacefully Friday, November 21, 2025, at Wake Robin in Shelburne, VT.
Kit was born on February 27,1923, in Rockville Center, NY, the youngest of two children. Kit graduated from SUNY State Teacher’s College in Schenectady, NY, in 1943, where she met her future husband, Bob Wilson. The two were married in June of that year. During World War II, Kit taught public school in Annapolis, MD, while Bob served as an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy. Then, after 10 years living in Ithaca, NY, the family settled in Lincoln, MA. There Kit continued teaching part-time while raising three children.
Summers were spent on Cape Cod where the entire family became accomplished sailors, while winters involved weekend trips to their ski chalet in the Mad River Valley of Vermont. The couple shared a love of amateur radio, running a small business in the field, Radio Kit, and traveling widely to meet HAM radio enthusiasts around the world. One of Kit’s proudest moments was assisting by radio a Coast Guard rescue after picking up an unanswered Mayday call from a boat in distress off the U.S. west coast.
In 1994, Kit and Bob moved to Wake Robin, where Kit immersed herself in the community for the next three decades. In her early years there, she helped establish the community television system and the gift shop. Recreationally, she especially enjoyed resident/staff competitions in golf and bowling. Later she devoted countless hours to the annual tag sale – continuing to volunteer well into her centenarian years.
After Bob passed in 2008, Kit formed a loving partnership with Wake Robin resident Ralph Van Woert. They traveled, tended their garden, dried flowers, and delighted in simple pleasures until Ralph’s death in 2018.
Kit embraced all aspects of life at Wake Robin. Described by a niece as “a pool shark, tech whiz, businesswoman, competitive ping-pong and Wordle player, and totally sharp, empathetic and politically informed female,” she was the deeply loved matriarch of her family.
Kit is survived by her three children: Kay Henry (Rob Center), Robert Wilson Jr. (Stephanie), and Doug Wilson (Cari); seven grandchildren: Carrie Henry, Dana Henry (Kari), Anne Wilson, Robert “Tres” Wilson III (Elizabeth), Matt Wilson, Tim Wilson, and Ben Wilson; and four great-grandchildren: Bradley, Charlotte, Katherine, and Grace.
A reception honoring Kit’s life will be held in the Birches at Wake Robin on December 5, from 1 to 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in her name to the Wake Robin Endowment Fund, 200 Wake Robin Drive, Shelburne, VT 05482.
