Sylvia Willard studied with a theatre professor at Middlebury College as a young girl.  She learned to recite classical poetry and perform readings, winning scholarships and competitions.  She went on to be a founder of the Vermont Actors' Repertory Theatre and taught drama at the College of St. Joseph.  Ms. Willard died in 2006, at the age of 84.

See also: We Remember Sylvia Willard