Margaret Louise MacLeish

Margaret Louise Moll MacLeish (a/k/a "Granny Peggy") passed on to Beulah land on the afternoon of the Solstice in the presence of her family, having technically avoided the winter at her door. Granny Peggy came to live in Putney, VT at the suggestion of her daughters, not out of any strong attachments to Northern New England. Her geographical commitments were Kentucky through and through, although she went to her grave believing that the Bluegrass State lost its way when it put more funding into basketball than public libraries.

Peggy was, by all accounts, an exceptional student. By the time she graduated she was at the top of her class, a serious student of American literature. By design, she was introduced to the poet Archibald MacLeish when he came to lecture at the University of Louisville. His son William, stationed at nearby Fort Knox, just happened to be included in the invitation. They were married in 1953, went off to Peru on a fellowship with the Institute of Current World Affairs in 1954, and had their first child, Margaret "Meg," in 1956, followed by Morellen in 1959.

After their divorce in 1978, Peggy returned to her beloved Louisville where she reconnected with the Moll clan and perfected her wordplay. Having discovered more cousins, she came to believe that the "cuzmos" could be "mollified." She also found solace through the Centering Prayer community and the Thomas Merton Center.

In 2012, Granny Peggy moved to Putney to be closer to her daughters and their families. While Peggy was generally unmoved by local assertions of Vermont's special status, she did find several things to love about her last home, to wit: the cinnamon buns at the General Store, the apple pie from Green Mountain Orchard, the iced mint tea at Katie's, the maple creamee from Hidden Springs Maple and all things puppet at Sandglass.

Peggy leaves behind her daughter, Morellen MacLeish and son-in-law John Voci of Easthampton, Massachusetts; her daughter Meg Mott and daughter-in-law Alison Mott of Putney, Vermont; her grandchildren, Ana Voci of Brooklyn, New York; Jacob Turino of Berkeley, California; and Lucia Turino of Putney. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Institute of Current World Affairs or Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation.

Services will be held at a later date. The KER-WESTERLUND FUNERAL HOME, Brattleboro, VT is assisting with arrangements. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Peggy's name to Institute of Current World Affairs, 1779 Massachusetts Ave NW #615, Washington, DC 20036 or to the Metro Parks & Recreation Department, PO Box 37280, Louisville, KY 40233.