FIRST PERSON He was an outdoorsman who loved the Vermont landscape but his interests and accomplishments were wide. He brought computerized systems into the business and installed sophisticated implements and a special table for equine surgery so operations no longer had to be performed out in a field. He took photos of diseases and wounds for educational talks, and tried the patience of family and friends in the years-long invention process of his finally-marketed ManePuller, a device created to address the problems that result from using a pulling comb: cut fingers, hurt wrists, and stressed-out horses. “Best of all,” says Hannah, “he never missed one of our events. He was always there.” Years ago a close friend—I no longer remember who—referred to David as “such a gentle giant. He is the person you go to when your dog has to be put down.” That description is so perfect I have never forgotten it. Or the memory of his taking me and my adored yellow lab outside the clinic, settling us under a maple on a beautiful summer day, and sending Ben on his journey with such meaningful kindness. n
Nancy Wolfe Stead is a former columnist at The Stowe Reporter. She now lives at Wake Robin in Shelburne.
A shortened version of Sequist’s obituary from the Stowe Reporter ... David Bea Sequist, DVM, of Stowe, was born April 19, 1941, and died Sept. 17, 2020, at the University of Vermont Medical Center. A football and track star at East Hartford High School in Connecticut, he attended the University of Vermont where he played football for the Catamounts on a full athletic scholarship, and met his wife, Jane. There, his accomplishments on the football field were impressive. He was named first-team All-East as a guard, captained the UVM football team, and was one of only two conference players named to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division North Team. He was also named to the All-New England and All-State teams. In 1963, he was presented with the Wasson Athletic Prize, “awarded to the male and female members of the senior class who have maintained the highest standard of academic scholarship and athletic attainment.” In 1985, he was named to the UVM Athletic Hall of Fame and called “one of the strongest linemen to play for a Catamount football squad.” Incredibly athletic, fast and dynamic, he also competed for the Vermont track and field teams.
He went on to attend Cornell University and in 1967 received his doctorate in veterinary medicine. Since childhood David knew he wanted to be a veterinarian. In 1977 he built Sequist Animal Hospital in Morrisville, where he had one of the first large-animal surgical facilities in the state. Here he spent the bulk of his 51-year career before selling the practice to focus his last 13 years on large animal medicine and starting Sequist Large Animal Veterinary Service. With his quick smile and kind soul he helped many animals and their owners. David was the epitome of a country vet, becoming the subject of a book written by William Jaspersohn called “A Day in the Life of a Veterinarian.” (Little Brown, 1978) He had a unique combination of strength, passion, curiosity, creativity, and empathy, which made him exceptional not only at his work, but also as a man. He listened more than he talked and soaked up everything he read and heard. He found success in the things that matter— love for his family, love for his work, and love for his community. He was a man who needed little to be happy.
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