Harold Howrigan, a champion of Vermont’s dairy industry, has died. He was 85.
Howrigan, whose family has been in the dairy business in Franklin County since the mid-1800s, passed away Sept. 7 at his farmhouse in Fairfield.
His family business, H.J. & A. Howrigan and Sons, was named Vermont’s dairy farm of the year in 2007.
“Harold was a man of local, down-to-earth demeanor with national influence,” Vermont Agriculture Secretary Roger Allbee said. “He was as at home in the barn as he was in a boardroom and valued his family above all else. I personally will miss his wit and wisdom and valuable council and sage advice.”
He was a former member of the Vermont Dairy Promotion Board and was appointed by three different Vermont Governors to the Vermont Milk Commission. He belonged to the Vermont Farm Bureau. He was on the Agricultural Advisory Committee for Senator Patrick J. Leahy and former Senator James Jeffords.
A funeral mass was scheduled for 11 a.m. September 11, 2009 at St. Patrick’s church, in Fairfield. Among the expected mourners: U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, a personal friend who once traveled to Ireland with Howrigan and who plans to return from Washington, D.C.
—The Burlington Free Press contributed to this report.
