The widow of former Vermont Sen. George Aiken died Monday at age 102.
Lola Aiken was a fixture in Montpelier after the death of her husband in 1984. A resident of the Gary Home, she could often be seen holding forth and discussing the news of the day at the Coffee Corner diner at State and Main streets.
Lola Pierotti was born in Montpelier and was valedictorian of her class at Montpelier High School. She soon went to work in the Secretary of State’s Office, where she became acquainted with Rep. George Aiken of Putney, according to her obituary posted by the Montpelier funeral home Guare and Sons/Barber and Lanier.
George Aiken, a Republican, went on to serve as lieutenant governor and, in 1937, governor. When he was elected senator in 1940, Aiken hired Pierotti to work in his Washington, D.C., office. She became his chief of staff in the 1950s, and, upon the death of Aiken’s first wife the two married, according to the obituary.
When George Aiken died in 1984, Lola Aiken returned to Montpelier and remained active in the community.
Following burial in Putney next to the “Governor,” as she always called her husband, a Memorial Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 15, at St. Augustine’s Church in Montpelier.
By VTDigger staff
