Rodolphe “Rod” James Vallee passed away peacefully following a long illness at his home in Georgia, Vt., on March 12, 2026. Rod was born on May 27, 1937, son of Rodolphe L. and Shirley Vallee, the third of five Rodolphes, descendants of French Canadien immigrants, whose family is traced to Beauport, Québec from the early 17th century.
While Rod’s early years were spent on High Street in St. Albans, Vt., his family moved to a dairy farm in Sheldon, Vt., where his love of the outdoors blossomed. He and his beloved beagle, Penny, were often found in the company of his best friend Terry O’Brien, hunting rabbits in Sheldon and Fairfield Swamp, with Terry and Rod ultimately building a log cabin for deer hunting in the town of Lewis in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. As Rod’s family grew, he purchased a logging camp in northern Maine, which, to this day, serves as a gathering place for family deer and bird hunts.
Rod started as a center for the BFA football team. He was selected to play in the 1955 Shrine game, which Vermont won. And, in classic fashion, Rod fell in love with the coach’s daughter, Betty White. Betty and Rod were married on July 11, 1959, the start of an extraordinary 66-year partnership.
Rod spent the next decades of his life building R.L. Vallee, Inc., expanding the home heating and propane service company into gasoline, forming the basis for what ultimately became the Maplefields convenience store chain. In that role, Rod also served as president of the Vermont Oil Heat Institute, board member of the New England Fuel Oil Institute and the keynote speaker at Mobil’s national fuel distributors’ convention.
But Rod’s commitment to the Franklin County and St. Albans community was nonpareil. He served as president of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, president of the St. Albans Rotary Club (Paul Harris Award), director of the Franklin-Lamoille Bank, member of the Georgia School Board, and provided early support for the St. Albans Skating Association — at a time when the predecessors to the great hockey players of St. Albans skated in an old railroad building and dodged pigeon droppings on the ice.
But it was Rod’s love of the outdoors that truly defined him. His degree in wildlife ecology from the University of Vermont anchored a lifetime of outdoor exploration, primarily with his camera. Rod served as chairman of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board (his grandfather had been commissioner) and was a member of the Georgia Conservation Commission, and working with the Lake Champlain Land Trust was instrumental in preserving Rock Island in St. Albans Bay for the protection of the common tern.
Upon his retirement from R.L. Vallee, Inc. in 1992, Rod and Betty traveled the world, cameras at the ready. Life on a Russian trawler, (where Rod captured a rare shot of a polar bear capturing a walrus), a voyage on an Antarctic icebreaker, an expedition into the Seregenti, a journey into the Brazilian Pantanal and visits to their beloved Maine camp were just a few of their shared experiences. Many of the photos from these ventures made their way into books Rod and Betty coauthored, and their renovated schoolhouse in Georgia serves as a repository for their best photos.
But it was Rod’s commitment to his family, whether at the family camp on Hathaway Point or with grandchildren on Rod’s preserved land in Georgia, that defines him. Besides his loving wife, Betty, he is survived by five children, Rodolphe M. “Skip” (Denise), Amy Norris (Kevin), Lisa Driver (Jim), Tim (Lynn) and Andrea Dukas (Tom). Many of the grandchildren live near Rod and continued to bless his life. They are Rodolphe T. “Teddy” Vallee (Anh), Charlie Vallee, Daniel Norris (Katie), Patrick Norris, Wil Norris (Simi), Katie Driver (Nate), Ben Driver (Jess), Sam Driver (Karah), Emily Westfall (Corey), Jack Vallee, Christian Vallee, Parker Dukas (Mariah), Peter Dukas and Elizabeth Dukas. His life was further blessed with 10 great-grandchildren — Sage, Reese, Quinn, Isla, Ethan, Avery, Tucker, Zoe, Coco and Arlo.
Along with many nieces and nephews, Rod is survived by his sister Paula Fahl (Dave) and sister Jan Tessier (John) and was predeceased by sister Renee Bachand (Ron).
Calling hours will be on Friday, March 20, 2026, 4 to 7 p.m., at the Heald Funeral Home, 87 South Main St., St. Albans.
A service to celebrate Rod’s life will be held on Saturday, March 21, 2 p.m., at the Georgia Plains Baptist Church, 1493 Stone Bridge Rd., Georgia.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Boston Children’s Hospital, 401 Park Dr., Suite 602, Boston, MA 02215 or the Charles M. Vallee Foundation for Long Covid Research, 61 Brays Island Dr., Sheldon, SC 29941.
Honored to be serving the family of Rod Vallee is Rett Heald of the Heald Funeral Home, where messages of condolence are welcome at healdfuneralhome.com.