A passion for large-scale construction equipment led to a career that included the construction of parts of Interstate 89 and other notable projects Juan Mier Jr., 90, of Hardwick and Burlington, Vt., passed away peacefully on October 27, 2024, at his home. He was born in Hardwick, the son of Juan Sr. and Justa (Canales) who immigrated from Spain as part of the skilled immigrant labor force from Europe for the granite industry and started their own dairy farm in Hardwick, where he grew up. He was a longtime member of the Caspian Lake Masonic Lodge. He was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his loving wife of 66 years, Angela (Zorilla), 90; children, Juan III and wife, Holly (LaFrance), and Angelo and wife, Barbara (Warrender); grandchildren, Victoria Mier and Rebecca Mier; sister, Pilar Canales, and her son, Dionisio Canales. He met and married his wife, Angela, in Spain and brought her back to the U.S., where they eventually settled in Burlington, Vt. After high school, he attended Norwich University for a semester, where he studied agriculture but later developed a passion for large-scale construction equipment and pursued a career in the maintenance of such equipment. This career took him to large-scale construction projects, both in the U.S. and overseas, including the Bahamas, Libya, Algeria, UAE and Saudi Arabia, and to projects that included the construction of a portion of Interstate 89 in Vermont from Richmond to Jonesville and the Alaskan pipeline. His final job before retirement was as a truck mechanic with Fitzpatrick’s GMC on Pine Street in Burlington, where he worked for 13 years. He loved to tinker and could fix or build just about anything in his workshop in their basement, where over the course of 50-plus years had turned into its own machine shop and hardware store, as he salvaged, sorted and saved every nut, bolt and brass fitting he could find. He was an avid gun enthusiast and collector and loved hunting, target shooting, and reloading his own bullets. He also loved sharing these hobbies with friends. In lieu of flowers, his family asks that donations be made to Bayada Hospice for making his last weeks at home humane and comfortable and for all the support provided to the family. The family would also like to thank the support provided by the Mansfield Place staff during that time as well. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, October 31, at 11 a.m., at des Groseilliers Funeral Home, 97 Church St., Hardwick, followed by…