Obituaries
Peter Edgar Musty
March 28, 2026
Peter Edgar Musty), 71, of Ryegate, VT, died February 18, 2026, at the Jack Byrne Hospice Center in Lebanon, NH after a brief illness.
He was born on June 3, 1954 in Woodsville, NH, the son of Edgar Musty and Katherine Musty (Walter) of Piermont, NH.
Peter attended Piermont Elementary School, Bradford Academy and Oxbow High School (which he helped construct as a brick tender). Growing up, he worked on the family dairy farm on River Road in Piermont, sometimes running it with his brother Sam while their parents focused on real estate. Also, starting in high school, Peter worked as a logger while farming.
Drawn by his wish to visit extended family amid the Wyoming mountains and big timber, Peter headed west where he logged in Wyoming and Montana. He frequently visited his aunt Ann Eisler and her husband and his cousins. He worked for his uncle in home construction in Wyoming. Later he went west with Ross Mitchell from the neighboring Piermont farm, and did more carpentry, building high end houses in Laguna Beach CA (where he also developed his lifelong love of Mexican food). He later used those skills to build two homes for himself in Vermont and a barn for his sister Jane in Haverhill.
He returned to New England to log while also making multiple cross country trips, including backpacking in the Cascades of the Pacific Northwest. He traveled abroad as well in a month-long trip to Australia and New Zealand.
Along with logging, Peter loved the land, its forests and fields, its feathered and furry inhabitants. He purchased his first piece of land while working on his parents’ farm. He owned several parcels in New Hampshire and in 1971 he purchased his first property in Ryegate. In subsequent years he purchased abutting parcels and spent the 1980’s siting and building a home in Ryegate. When a house fire destroyed the first home, Peter built a second on the same site that he loved. He eventually purchased the original farmstead across the road to keep the forest and fields intact. He also worked in excavation, road building, and pond creation alongside his logging work.
He married Donna Waelter of Ryegate, VT in December, 1988. They had two children together. Peter loved to spend time outdoors with his family, including two cross country RV trips and vacations on Holland Pond, by the Canadian border, at a family friend’s cabin. One of his greatest joys was strolling his land with loved ones, stopping every few minutes to comment on and admire the trees and wildlife. He passed this love for nature and conservation down to his children, teaching them the value of caring for our lands and encouraging moments of silence and appreciation in nature.
Peter loved the speed of downhill skiing, and took up cross country skiing in later years. He always enjoyed hiking, and swimming. He also was fond of motorcycles, two-stroke Saabs, and Positraction rear end Volvo wagons (which he sometimes used as trucks in the deep snow and mud). He chose to spend many evening and weekends with his extended family, especially at his parents’ retirement home in Piermont and on Lake Armington at family camps. Telling family stories and sharing laughter with family and friends was how Peter most enjoyed spending his time out of the woods.
Peter was predeceased by his brother Sam Musty and sister Jane Wilcox (Musty).
Peter is survived by his sister Susan, his children Ira Musty of Ryegate, and Margaret Musty of Portland, Oregon, and his grandson, a niece and several nephews as well as multiple Musty and Davis family cousins, and his shirt-tail relatives, the Ritchies, of Piermont.
No formal services will be held at this time. There will be a celebration for friends and family later in the year.
The family asks that those who wish may make a memorial contribution to either of these organizations: National Fabry Disease Foundation, 144 E King St, Unit 1419, Hillsborough, NC 27228 or at www.fabrydisease.org OR Fabry Support and Information Group, 108 NE 2nd St, PO Box 510, Concordia, MO 64020 or at www.fabry.org.
He was born on June 3, 1954 in Woodsville, NH, the son of Edgar Musty and Katherine Musty (Walter) of Piermont, NH.
Peter attended Piermont Elementary School, Bradford Academy and Oxbow High School (which he helped construct as a brick tender). Growing up, he worked on the family dairy farm on River Road in Piermont, sometimes running it with his brother Sam while their parents focused on real estate. Also, starting in high school, Peter worked as a logger while farming.
Drawn by his wish to visit extended family amid the Wyoming mountains and big timber, Peter headed west where he logged in Wyoming and Montana. He frequently visited his aunt Ann Eisler and her husband and his cousins. He worked for his uncle in home construction in Wyoming. Later he went west with Ross Mitchell from the neighboring Piermont farm, and did more carpentry, building high end houses in Laguna Beach CA (where he also developed his lifelong love of Mexican food). He later used those skills to build two homes for himself in Vermont and a barn for his sister Jane in Haverhill.
He returned to New England to log while also making multiple cross country trips, including backpacking in the Cascades of the Pacific Northwest. He traveled abroad as well in a month-long trip to Australia and New Zealand.
Along with logging, Peter loved the land, its forests and fields, its feathered and furry inhabitants. He purchased his first piece of land while working on his parents’ farm. He owned several parcels in New Hampshire and in 1971 he purchased his first property in Ryegate. In subsequent years he purchased abutting parcels and spent the 1980’s siting and building a home in Ryegate. When a house fire destroyed the first home, Peter built a second on the same site that he loved. He eventually purchased the original farmstead across the road to keep the forest and fields intact. He also worked in excavation, road building, and pond creation alongside his logging work.
He married Donna Waelter of Ryegate, VT in December, 1988. They had two children together. Peter loved to spend time outdoors with his family, including two cross country RV trips and vacations on Holland Pond, by the Canadian border, at a family friend’s cabin. One of his greatest joys was strolling his land with loved ones, stopping every few minutes to comment on and admire the trees and wildlife. He passed this love for nature and conservation down to his children, teaching them the value of caring for our lands and encouraging moments of silence and appreciation in nature.
Peter loved the speed of downhill skiing, and took up cross country skiing in later years. He always enjoyed hiking, and swimming. He also was fond of motorcycles, two-stroke Saabs, and Positraction rear end Volvo wagons (which he sometimes used as trucks in the deep snow and mud). He chose to spend many evening and weekends with his extended family, especially at his parents’ retirement home in Piermont and on Lake Armington at family camps. Telling family stories and sharing laughter with family and friends was how Peter most enjoyed spending his time out of the woods.
Peter was predeceased by his brother Sam Musty and sister Jane Wilcox (Musty).
Peter is survived by his sister Susan, his children Ira Musty of Ryegate, and Margaret Musty of Portland, Oregon, and his grandson, a niece and several nephews as well as multiple Musty and Davis family cousins, and his shirt-tail relatives, the Ritchies, of Piermont.
No formal services will be held at this time. There will be a celebration for friends and family later in the year.
The family asks that those who wish may make a memorial contribution to either of these organizations: National Fabry Disease Foundation, 144 E King St, Unit 1419, Hillsborough, NC 27228 or at www.fabrydisease.org OR Fabry Support and Information Group, 108 NE 2nd St, PO Box 510, Concordia, MO 64020 or at www.fabry.org.
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