Millie (Bovey) O'Leary

Millie (Bovey) O’Leary, 89, passed away peacefully on November 29, 2020 in her home in Dorset, Vermont. Born on September 30, 1931 in Dorset, Millie attended Dorset schools and graduated from Pittsford High School in 1950. She married her husband of 54 years, Francis O’Leary, on December 27, 1952. A cashier and bookkeeper at Grand Union in Manchester for 35 years, Millie enjoyed 27 years of blissful retirement following her career. A lifelong fan of Boston sports, she proudly cheered on the Red Sox and Celtics in victory and (lots of) defeat, often from a specific sitting position because they played better when she did. She cheered for Burr and Burton and her great-granddaughters, too, who fortunately are more athletically inclined than her granddaughters. Millie loved gardening, feeding the birds and fighting the squirrels, and baking. She was an active member of the United Church of Dorset and East Rupert who deeply loved uncovering a treasure at the rummage sale to pass along to an unsuspecting loved one at Christmastime. She did get out of Dorset Hollow every now and again, to the camp she and Francis built at Tinmouth Pond in the 1970s; to Maine eating fried haddock, clam strips, and ice cream galore; to Nashville, Branson, Pennsylvania, and beyond with her siblings and in-laws; and the trip of a lifetime to visit Christy and Ryan in Hawaii. Millie is survived by her daughter, Linda O’Leary, of Dorset; son, Daniel, and his wife, Cindy (Casey), of Dorset; granddaughter Christy (O’Leary) Downey and her husband, Ryan, of Dorset; granddaughter Shannon O’Leary of Boston; great-granddaughters Mylee, Kaelin, Ella, and Piper, all of Dorset; 36 nieces and nephews and their families; “bonus” daughter Peggy (Abbott) Lyon of New Milford, CT; and special friends Dottie Streeter of Dorset and Caroline Sargent of East Rupert. Millie was predeceased by her parents Fred and Sarah (Streeter) Bovey; husband Francis; her siblings Loyerston “Bub” Bovey, Harriet Williams, Frank Bovey, Mabel Herrick, Geneva O’Leary, and Fred Bovey. A celebration of life will be held in the future. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the United Church of Dorset and East Rupert and the Northshire Rescue Squad of Manchester.