Individual Details
Mollie Mary A. Palmer
(1922 - 16 May 2013)
Commons Online, Windham County, Vermont - published June 26, 2013
http://www.commonsnews.org/site/site05/story.php?articleno=7770&page=2#.UvPCN_ldWAU
• Mollie Palmer McNamee, 91,
of Wardsboro. Died May 16 at Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend, due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. Wife of the late Gordon E. McNamee for 63 years. Mother of Michele McNamee of West Townshend, Anne Oxley and her husband, Gil, of Wilmington, and the late Ian McNamee. Born in Boston, the daughter of the late Elsie King and Paul Palmer, as a young child she moved to the south side of Chicago with her mother and step-father Philip Bradbury. Her life was dramatically altered at age 15 when her mother succumbed to pneumonia and her step-father died in the Spanish Civil War, leaving her an orphan. Her siblings Caroline and Jonathan were adopted out and she lived in various foster homes for a while before being taken in by the family of her best friend Alice (Bro) Racher, this she always described as one of the best days of her life. She graduated from Hyde Park High School in Chicago and then went on to Northland College in Ashland, Wis., where she graduated with a B.A. in 1944. After graduating from college, she found a job in publishing in Chicago, but eventually found her way to New York City, where she worked at Time Inc. In 1948, she made a big gamble when she took her savings and bought a one-way ticket to Paris. She attended the Atelier Julian in order to study life drawing. In post-war Paris, she found a thrilling life where she met many interesting people, indulged in a life of art and music, a newfound love of food and cooking and, most importantly, she found her life mate, whom she married in 1949. After having the first of their three children in Paris, they returned to the States. As she often said, she had three wonderful years on a one-way ticket. Returning to the East Coast, the family lived for 25 years in and around Westport, Conn. In 1975, the McNamees realized their dream, moving permanently to Vermont where they had enjoyed a rustic family cabin in West Wardsboro since the 1950s. They opened a small Army/Navy shop, Mountain Jeanery, in Wilmington, which they owned and operated for more than 30 years before retiring. She will be remembered for her consistently sage advice, her keen intelligence and formidable Scrabble playing, for her love of British mysteries, and her reputation among friends and family as a beautiful hostess and an amazingly talented cook. And lastly, for her sometimes dry but often playful sense of humor and her refusal to suffer fools gladly. Memorial information: In accordance with her wishes, there will be no funeral services. Donations to Wardsboro Volunteer Fire & Rescue, P.O. Box 151, Wardsboro, VT 05355
http://www.commonsnews.org/site/site05/story.php?articleno=7770&page=2#.UvPCN_ldWAU
• Mollie Palmer McNamee, 91,
of Wardsboro. Died May 16 at Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend, due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. Wife of the late Gordon E. McNamee for 63 years. Mother of Michele McNamee of West Townshend, Anne Oxley and her husband, Gil, of Wilmington, and the late Ian McNamee. Born in Boston, the daughter of the late Elsie King and Paul Palmer, as a young child she moved to the south side of Chicago with her mother and step-father Philip Bradbury. Her life was dramatically altered at age 15 when her mother succumbed to pneumonia and her step-father died in the Spanish Civil War, leaving her an orphan. Her siblings Caroline and Jonathan were adopted out and she lived in various foster homes for a while before being taken in by the family of her best friend Alice (Bro) Racher, this she always described as one of the best days of her life. She graduated from Hyde Park High School in Chicago and then went on to Northland College in Ashland, Wis., where she graduated with a B.A. in 1944. After graduating from college, she found a job in publishing in Chicago, but eventually found her way to New York City, where she worked at Time Inc. In 1948, she made a big gamble when she took her savings and bought a one-way ticket to Paris. She attended the Atelier Julian in order to study life drawing. In post-war Paris, she found a thrilling life where she met many interesting people, indulged in a life of art and music, a newfound love of food and cooking and, most importantly, she found her life mate, whom she married in 1949. After having the first of their three children in Paris, they returned to the States. As she often said, she had three wonderful years on a one-way ticket. Returning to the East Coast, the family lived for 25 years in and around Westport, Conn. In 1975, the McNamees realized their dream, moving permanently to Vermont where they had enjoyed a rustic family cabin in West Wardsboro since the 1950s. They opened a small Army/Navy shop, Mountain Jeanery, in Wilmington, which they owned and operated for more than 30 years before retiring. She will be remembered for her consistently sage advice, her keen intelligence and formidable Scrabble playing, for her love of British mysteries, and her reputation among friends and family as a beautiful hostess and an amazingly talented cook. And lastly, for her sometimes dry but often playful sense of humor and her refusal to suffer fools gladly. Memorial information: In accordance with her wishes, there will be no funeral services. Donations to Wardsboro Volunteer Fire & Rescue, P.O. Box 151, Wardsboro, VT 05355
Events
| Birth | 1922 | Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States | |||
| Marriage | 1949 | Paris, France - Gordon Eyman McNamee | |||
| Death | 16 May 2013 | Townshend, Windham, Vermont, United States |
Families
| Spouse | Gordon Eyman McNamee (1925 - 2011) |
| Father | Paul Palmer |
| Mother | Elsie King (1902 - 1937) |