• Courtesy Photo
• Elise Macklaier McGregor

Elise Macklaier McGregor, a longtime resident of Williston, Vt., and beloved wife, mother, sister and aunt, passed to her eternal home on July 27, 2020, while residing at Mansfield Place Assisted Living, where she received great care. She was predeceased by her parents, former husband and a nephew, Peter Birkett.

Elise was born on June 8, 1926, to William Fraser and Grace Isabel Macklaier in Montréal, Canada. She attended Westmount High School and then completed secretarial training and later attended Chamberlain School of Retailing in Boston. She married Kenneth Winfield Palmer on October 11, 1952, in Montréal. After moving to Burlington in 1978, she did secretarial and administrative work at Champlain College, as well as at Trinity College in Burlington. She was also active in the Green Mountain Club as well as in church, where she met Ralph Martin McGregor. They married on October 20, 1990.

Elise is survived by her daughter, Karen (Richard) Seas; son, Kenneth (Jane) Palmer; sister, Joan Birkett, of Invermere, British Columbia; brother, Ian Macklaier, of Pointe-Claire, Québec; nephew, Timothy (Lynn) Birkett, of Invermere; nieces Jenifer Birkett (Clay Miller) of San Francisco and Lisa Birkett (Ted Hall); stepchildren James McGregor, Pat (Kurt) Fischer, Brian McGregor, Allan McGregor and Sheila McGregor, all of Vermont; grandchildren Jenifer, David and Laura Seas and Nathaniel, Emily and Zachary Palmer, as well as Michael (Annick) McGregor, Jennifer McGregor, Amy Fischer, Eric (Kirby) Fischer, Melanie (Shane) Landherr, Bruce (Andrea) McGregor and Rob McGregor; and six great-grandchildren, EJ, Grayson, Sam, Henry, Zoe and Cian.

A memorial service will be held at the Community Alliance Church in Hinesburg, Vt., on Sunday, June 27, 2021, at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to either St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, or to Heidi’s Haven Animal Rescue, 140 Casino Rd., Williamstown, VT 05679.