She has died at age 92.she was a well known author and illustrator,who believed she was a reincarnation of a woman who lived until 1842.

This is what it said in our local paper (since she lived not too far from me)


Noted author, artist dies

June 20, 2008

Herald Staff

Tasha Tudor, whose whimsical drawings of country outings, gardens and family life in rural New England echoed her own picturesque lifestyle, has died. She was 92.
Photo: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MARLBORO — Well-known children's author and illustrator Tasha Tudor, known best for her whimsical drawings of old-fashioned country life, died Wednesday at her Marlboro home. She was 92.

Tudor, who illustrated such classics as "Little Women" and "The Secret Garden," died Wednesday at her home, surrounded by family and friends, according to a statement posted on her Web site.

Her death was confirmed by Atamaniuk Funeral Home in Brattleboro, which was handling the arrangements. Tudor moved to the southern Vermont town from New Hampshire about 35 years ago to be near one of her sons, and she lived in a 19th-century replica cape built by her son.

Tudor was the author and illustrator of about 100 books, including illustrations of children's classics. Her first book, "Pumpkin Moonshine," was published in 1934.

Tudor, an extremely private if not eccentric author and artist, was a familiar figure until recently in nearby towns, dressed in 19th-century-style clothing, which she made herself. Invariably, she carried a handmade splint basket for her errands at the Brattleboro Food Co-op or other local stores.

"Einstein said that time is like a river, it flows in bends. If we could only step back around the turns, we could travel in either direction. I'm sure it's possible. When I die, I'm going right back to the 1830s. I'm not even afraid of dying. I think it must be quite exciting," Tudor wrote on her Web site.

Jerry Carbine, the director of Brooks Memorial Library, said the library had about 20 of her books in the children's library, as well as the more recent books about Tudor's own home and her extensive gardens.

"She had written nearly 100 books, and we have over 20 of her titles," said Carbine, who noted Tudor had won several prestigious awards through the years.

"I did see her on occasion in town. I think she's popular," said Carbine, who said he had noticed that her memorial site already had more than 800 tributes registered about Tudor's work and her effect on their lives.

"Her fame was beyond the state," he said Carbine, noting that of the 840 people signing the memorial, only one or two were from Vermont. "In many ways, she was a very private person."

"She was ahead of her time, but she lived in the past," said Jill Adams-Mancivalano, a longtime friend. Tudor, who quit school after eighth grade, wrote or collaborated on nearly 100 children's books after making her debut with "Pumpkin Moonshine" in 1938. In addition to "The Secret Garden," she illustrated "The Night Before Christmas" and wrote books of her own, including "Corgiville Fair."

Her home in this southern Vermont town was a replica of a 19th-century New England homestead, replete with antique utensils, tiny windows and doorways of varying sizes. In later life, she burnished her reputation among fans with her gardening, weaving and sewing exploits. She opened her gardens to the public for tours every year, drawing people from as far away as Japan. She made her own clothing — fashioned after 19th-century apparel — and raised Nubian goats for their milk.

Adams-Mancivalano, whose family farm in nearby Wilmington hosted open-to-the-public birthday parties and other events in which Tudor held forth with fans, called her a witty, engaging homebody who loved to insert friends, family members and little details of her own life into her work.

"Just to watch her draw, the detail and the whimsy that she had in her later life was just incredible. I asked her about that one time, how her work has evolved, and her comment to me was 'Well, my eyesight is starting to fail, and I don't have the perfection I used to,' so she'd add more stuff."

Her family said an online memorial on her Web site was open for fans to share their feelings and memories of her. The Web site is www.tashatudorandfamily.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080620/NEWS02/806200394



Cat

i have some of her books.

She sounds like someone I would have liked to have talked to.  RIP Tasha, see you in the next life.

She sounds like someone I would have liked to have talked to.  RIP Tasha, see you in the next life.
i agree.

She sounds like an incredible, amazing woman who will certainly be missed...

She sounds like an incredible, amazing woman who will certainly be missed...
Just like the woman she was a reincarnation was missed. :)

Unfortunately, her kids are now fighting over the will.  :(

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080824/NEWS04/808240400&SearchID=73328061200981


Estranged siblings sue over Tasha Tudor's will

August 24, 2008

By Susan Smallheer Staff Writer


Photo: AP file photo

BRATTLEBORO — Tasha Tudor, who died in June at the age of 92 at her home in Marlboro, was internationally famous for her idyllic illustrations of life in New England.

But a lawsuit contesting her will raises the question whether her personal life was so simple. According to filings in Marlboro Probate Court in Brattleboro, three of Tudor's four children are contesting her $2 million will.

Thomas Tudor, associate general counsel for international affairs for the U.S. Air Force, and his two sisters, Bethany Tudor of Brattleboro and Efner Tudor Holmes of Contoocook, N.H., accuse their brother, Seth Tudor, 65, of keeping their mother isolated from them, "interfering" with their inheritance and exerting "undue influence" over their frail mother when she wrote her will in 2001 and revised it in 2002. They also, in court documents, hint that she was neglected in the final year of her life.

A hearing on the contested will is scheduled for Wednesday in the probate court.

Tasha Tudor died June 18 from a stroke she suffered a month earlier, according to her death certificate.

Seth Tudor and his son, Winslow, inherited the bulk of her $2 million estate. Tudor left $1,000 each to her daughters and similarly modest gifts to five of her 11 grandchildren.

In the 2001 will, Tudor said the modest sums for her daughters were a reflection of their "estrangement." The statement was repeated in a 2002 codicil and extended to her son Thomas Tudor.

The 2001 will stipulates the copyrights on her artistic works go to her two sons, but a 2002 codicil stripped Thomas Tudor of any share in his mother's estate, with the exception of an antique highboy kept in his mother's bathroom.

In her will, Tudor left her famous collection of 19th century clothes to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and left her doll collection, which is on display at Colonial Williamsburg, to Seth and his wife, Marjorie Tudor.

Her landmark 18th century replica home and gardens, the centerpiece of her most recent books and popular $165 per person garden tours, is already owned by the two estranged brothers, Seth and Thomas, according to Thomas Tudor.

In the probate court filing, Thomas Tudor, Bethany Tudor and Efner Tudor Holmes contend that their brother, Seth, should not be appointed executor of her estate. In a handwritten note to the court, Bethany Tudor explained why.

"Reasons: I feel he used undue influence upon my mother when she was not well these last years. After her death I was not allowed on the property for a family memorial service with her ashes. He had no service. I think Seth is incompetent, greedy and unfairly using what rightfully should have been divided between the four siblings," she wrote.

Bethany Tudor said her mother gave her furniture while she was in her 70s, but that the furniture remained at her mother's home. She submitted a handwritten list of furniture, that appears to be in Tasha Tudor's handwriting, dated in 1976.

"I feel Seth since 1999 especially, has completely controlled my mother's life in every way and perhaps taken advantage of her frailty, failing mind and her great fear of being put in a nursing home. The will reflects a most unfortunate and ugly situation," wrote her second daughter Efner Tudor Homes.

She also sent a handwritten note, signed by "Mum," and dated Jan. 19, 1976, which leaves Tudor's house and its contents to Thomas Tudor "in appreciation for his kindness, willingness to run tiresome errands and do dirty jobs, and especially for his constant consideration of me."

"Seth I've not left furniture to as he stated he really did not feel attached to such things. I trust he understands this," "Mum" wrote in 1976, about four years after she moved to Marlboro to a home she built next to her son's home on Raven Road.

The bulk of Tudor's estate appears to rest in the copyrights for the 100 books she produced over her 70-year career as an illustrator, according to Mark D. Schwartz, a Bryn Mawr, Pa., lawyer representing Thomas Tudor.

Schwartz, who was hired by Tasha Tudor about 10 years ago to lodge a copyright suit against her former agent, said that Thomas Tudor believes his elder brother should not be appointed executor.

"We don't think he's fit," said Schwartz said in a telephone interview.

Thomas Tudor, who joined the interview later, said that his mother had been in declining health for about three years, and her home was in a state of disrepair.

Thomas Tudor said his mother previously gave him the copyrights to one of her most famous books, "Corgiville Fair," along with the rights to "A Time To Keep," and a third book.

Thomas Tudor said that he last talked with his mother about a week before her death, but that he hadn't seen her for about nine months. He said his brother denied him entry to his mother's house after her death.

Schwartz said that Thomas, Efner and Bethany Tudor were not allowed to participate in a family service for their mother held by their brother, and they have no idea whether her ashes have been buried according to her wishes.

According to her will, Tasha Tudor wanted to be interred under a favorite rose bush at her Marlboro home, along with the ashes of her famous corgi dogs, and her pet rooster, Chickahominy.

Schwartz said bad feelings between the siblings were exacerbated when Thomas Tudor's tribute to his mother, which he tried to post on a Web site Seth Tudor set up to accept tributes after her death, was refused. According to Schwartz, one of Tudor's daughters' tributes was also rejected.

Robert Hare, of Concord, N.H., a Tasha Tudor expert who has published a comprehensive 900-page Tasha Tudor bibliography of her known published work, said Friday that the world she created in her drawings, paintings and books holds a special appeal for Korean and Japanese readers, who are fascinated by the mythology of early New England. Her illustrations often featured corgis and happy children playing with elegantly dressed dolls.

Hare, who owns Cellar Door Books, has made a living selling Tasha Tudor books for the past 25 years. He says Tudor had a cult following in some circles.

Hare's Web site lists original paintings and first edition signed books for sale in the hundreds and thousands of dollars. A Web site run by Seth Tudor and his family, called Tasha Tudor and Family, has similar listings.

Richard Coutant, a Bellows Falls attorney representing Seth Tudor, couldn't be reached for comment Friday, but his law partner George Nostrand referred questions on the case to Jean Brewster Giddings, a Brattleboro lawyer who prepared Tasha Tudor's will. Giddings couldn't be reached for comment late Friday afternoon.

According to court filings, Giddings removed herself from the probate case once the challenge to the will was filed, noting she would probably become a witness to the case since she prepared the will and witnessed it.

"I'm sure any publicity would affect the public's perception of Tasha Tudor, whether the facts are right or not, or who's right and who's wrong. If it becomes a large public fight, it will affect the reputation of Tasha Tudor as well," he said.

"She was a sweet little old lady and a very creative person," said Hare, who nonetheless said that one of Tudor's favorite sayings from the famous American author Mark Twain, could have special meaning for the Tudor family.

"'Everyone is like the moon and has a dark side, which he never shows anybody,'" said Hare.




Cat

^ I would like to see proof that the siblings did everything legally possible to see that their mother was being taken care of correctly.  If they thought that there was a problem they could have legally intervened.  If there was a problem and they didn't intervene, and it is an issue only now that the will has been read, well tough tooties.

Here is the latest (was in the paper this morning)

Tudor hearing to go forward

August 27, 2008

By Susan Smallheer Herald Staff

BRATTLEBORO — A hearing on the contested $2 million will of acclaimed illustrator Tasha Tudor will go on as planned, slated for today.

The attorney for one of Tudor's estranged sons had asked the court late last week to delay today's scheduled hearing on Tudor's contested will.

The attorney for Thomas Tudor of Fairfax Station, Va., filed a motion for a continuance in Marlboro District Probate Court, asking for a month's delay in the hearing.

But the attorney for another son, Seth Tudor of Marlboro, who is seeking to be named executor of his mother's estate, filed a counter motion Tuesday, asking that today's hearing go ahead as planned, according to a spokeswoman at the Marlboro District Probate Court.

Attorney Richard Coutant of Bellows Falls filed the motion, according to court clerk Susan Dunham.

Attorney Stephen Phillips of Brattleboro, an attorney for Thomas Tudor, said in court papers that the extra time was needed to do discovery and exchange information in the case, and to interview the attorney who wrote Tudor's 2001 will, as well as the 2002 codicil. Phillips is acting as local attorney, aiding Tudor's Pennsylvania lawyer, Mark Schwartz of Brynn Mawr, Pa.

Thomas Tudor, as well as his two sisters, Bethany Tudor of Brattleboro and Efner Tudor Holmes of Contoocook, N.H., have all filed objections in court to the appointment of their brother Seth Tudor of Marlboro to be the executor of their mother's $2 million estate, which is largely comprised of the copyrights to Tudor's books and illustrations.

Before she died in June at the age of 92 at her Marlboro home, Tudor was the author and illustrator of close to 100 books, many of them featuring life in 19th century New England.

Thomas Tudor, 62, and his brother Seth Tudor, 65, had originally been named as the primary beneficiaries of their elderly mother's will, but a 2002 codicil cut Thomas Tudor out of the will. In both the 2001 will and the codicil, each of Tudor's daughters only received $1,000 each.

Thomas Tudor, the associate general counsel for international affairs at the U.S. Air Force, has also raised issues of neglect of his mother in the final years of her life. The three siblings have also questioned whether their brother Seth exercised "undue influence" on their mother when she wrote and then changed her will.



Cat

Here is the latest (was in the paper this morning)

Tudor hearing to go forward

August 27, 2008

By Susan Smallheer Herald Staff

BRATTLEBORO — A hearing on the contested $2 million will of acclaimed illustrator Tasha Tudor will go on as planned, slated for today.

The attorney for one of Tudor's estranged sons had asked the court late last week to delay today's scheduled hearing on Tudor's contested will.

The attorney for Thomas Tudor of Fairfax Station, Va., filed a motion for a continuance in Marlboro District Probate Court, asking for a month's delay in the hearing.

But the attorney for another son, Seth Tudor of Marlboro, who is seeking to be named executor of his mother's estate, filed a counter motion Tuesday, asking that today's hearing go ahead as planned, according to a spokeswoman at the Marlboro District Probate Court.

Attorney Richard Coutant of Bellows Falls filed the motion, according to court clerk Susan Dunham.

Attorney Stephen Phillips of Brattleboro, an attorney for Thomas Tudor, said in court papers that the extra time was needed to do discovery and exchange information in the case, and to interview the attorney who wrote Tudor's 2001 will, as well as the 2002 codicil. Phillips is acting as local attorney, aiding Tudor's Pennsylvania lawyer, Mark Schwartz of Brynn Mawr, Pa.

Thomas Tudor, as well as his two sisters, Bethany Tudor of Brattleboro and Efner Tudor Holmes of Contoocook, N.H., have all filed objections in court to the appointment of their brother Seth Tudor of Marlboro to be the executor of their mother's $2 million estate, which is largely comprised of the copyrights to Tudor's books and illustrations.

Before she died in June at the age of 92 at her Marlboro home, Tudor was the author and illustrator of close to 100 books, many of them featuring life in 19th century New England.

Thomas Tudor, 62, and his brother Seth Tudor, 65, had originally been named as the primary beneficiaries of their elderly mother's will, but a 2002 codicil cut Thomas Tudor out of the will. In both the 2001 will and the codicil, each of Tudor's daughters only received $1,000 each.

Thomas Tudor, the associate general counsel for international affairs at the U.S. Air Force, has also raised issues of neglect of his mother in the final years of her life. The three siblings have also questioned whether their brother Seth exercised "undue influence" on their mother when she wrote and then changed her will.



Cat
I'm surprised she had only a 2 million dollar estate.