Eleanor MacRae

Eleanor Harris MacRae VIRGINIA BEACH - Eleanor Harris MacRae passed March 17, 2010 at 1 a.m. in Virginia Beach. She was born April 12, 1916 in Prince Edward County, Virginia. She was the daughter of Marshall Diuguid Harris and Mary Elam Harris. She was a graduate of Prospect High School and Farmville State Teachers College, now Longwood University. She was the wife of Neill MacRae Jr., from Littleton, N.C., for 65 years. She was proud mother of four sons, Howard I. Smith (deceased) of Richmond, Va., Cary Marshall Smith of Roanoke, Va., Neill MacRae III of Roanoke, Va., and Roderick MacRae of Lynchburg, Va. She is survived by five grandchildren and nine great- grandchildren who fondly called her Ba. She is also survived by one sister, Louise Harris Wilck of Farmville, Va.; three nieces and one nephew. Upon Neill's retirement in 1969, the family moved from Roanoke to Virginia Beach where they enjoyed their second career in real estate. Eleanor was a member of the Huguenot Society, U.S. Daughters of the American Revolution, U.S. Daughters of 1812, and Colonial Dames XVII of Century. In her latter years, she enjoyed the hobby of genealogy and was the author of three books on the subject for which she was given national recognition by the families involved. She was a member of the Bethpeor Baptist Church in Prince Edward County during her youth. Since then, she was a member of the First Baptist Church of Richmond and Cave Spring Methodist Church of Roanoke. She recently transferred her membership back to Bethpeor Baptist Church where she will be interred in the Harris family plot. Eleanor's life will be celebrated in a memorial service at the Beachlawn Baptist Church, 520 Norfolk Ave., Virginia Beach, at 11 a.m. March 22. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to the charity of your choice. Cremation Society of Virginia is assisting the family.