Vermont HCR 305: House concurrent resolution honoring former Representative Francis Matthew (Topper) McFaun for his exemplary public and community service

Bill Text

R-363 Page 1 of 1
2026

VT LEG #389933 v.1
No. R-363. House concurrent resolution honoring former Representative Francis
Matthew (Topper) McFaun for his exemplary public and community service.
(H.C.R.305)
Offered by All Members of the House
Whereas, throughout his life, Topper McFaun has been known by this distinctive
nickname, which his mother bestowed on him before his birth with optimistic aspirations,
and which he has undeniably surpassed, and
Whereas, growing up in a poor neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and
residing in the home of his elderly great-great-grandfather, Topper McFaun learned the
importance of wrangling meal invitations from neighbors, and
Whereas, Topper McFaun’s leadership potential was exhibited as captain of his high
school boys’ hockey and cross-country teams, and
Whereas, immediate post–high school factory employment motivated him to walk
(which was more affordable than public transit) to Boston University, where he secured
admission, skated as a men’s hockey Terrier, and earned a bachelor’s degree in
education, and
Whereas, after U.S. Army service and teaching in the Cambridge, Massachusetts,
public school system, Topper McFaun and his Brownsville wife, Mary Howland, moved
to Vermont, where he directed a youth employment program at the formerly named
Central Vermont Community Action Council Inc. and then thrived during a 38-year State
executive branch career focused on human services and employment-related matters, and
Whereas, he chaired the Barre Town Selectboard, served as Central Vermont
Economic Development Corporation president, and was a member of the Barre Area
Development Corporation, and
Whereas, for nearly two decades, Topper McFaun coached the Spaulding High School
Crimson Tide boys’ hockey team, which won five Division I championship game berths
and two consecutive divisional titles, and
Whereas, in 2004, Barre Town’s voters elected Topper McFaun to represent them in
the House of Representatives, where he was a respected legislator, developed many
friendships, and served as the House Committee on Health Care vice chair, and
Whereas, on April 3, 2026, after nearly 11 terms as a distinguished and proud member
of the House of Representatives, Topper McFaun said farewell to life under the Golden
Dome, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly honors former Representative Francis Matthew (Topper)
McFaun for his exemplary public and community service, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to
former Representative Topper McFaun.