Helen C. Riegels Mackey
EAST CALAIS- Helen Christine Riegels Mackey, 82, died peacefully on December 5, surrounded by her family.
Mrs. Mackey was born in Sacramento, CA, on November 6, 1936. As a child, she moved to Wilmington, and quickly developed a deep connection to Vermont which she would call home for most of the next 70 years. She thrived in the intimacy of small-town life, graduating as a three-sport athlete from Wilmington High School before going on to the University of Vermont. There her creative talents blossomed, winning her awards for interior design and promotion to editor-in-chief of the UVM yearbook.
After graduation she moved to Philadelphia to work as a sales representative for the Corning Glassworks Company. While curating displays of Corningware, she fell in love with a customer service manager at the John Wanamaker center city store. She and Allan Mackey married in 1962 and had two sons while moving first to Boston and then Washington, DC, to pursue educational and career opportunities. In 1972, Mrs. Mackey realized her dream to raise her family in small-town Vermont when they packed up the kids and the dogs and moved to East Calais village. She would go on to live in her beloved Vermont for the rest of her life.
While raising her sons (as well as many dogs, cats, and even the occasional rabbit), Mrs. Mackey found an outlet for her artistic and creative talents through a variety of pursuits that centered around entertaining and family holidays. She hosted elaborate dinners and parties for family and friends but, above all, she loved Christmas. She spent countless hours cooking, making gifts and decorations (even wrapping paper) all to ensure that the holidays were special for her family and friends. She then turned her passion into a business, first teaching herself the art of grain-braiding, then selling handmade straw Christmas ornaments at craft fairs throughout Vermont.
Mrs. Mackey was happiest when she was doing things for others, whether making crafts with her grandchildren or helping Vermonters as a caseworker in the Montpelier office of Sen. Jim Jeffords. She also liked spending time outdoors in her garden, often accompanied by one of her four-legged friends.
Survivors include her husband Allan, of Montpelier; son Scott and wife Kathy, of Waterbury; son Blake and wife Iratxe, of Colorado; niece Maya and husband Greg, of New Jersey; six grandchildren and one grand-niece; and two brothers, Dave and Dick. She was preceded in death by her sisters Alexa and Kathryn, her brother Ted, and her nephew Dave.
A gathering to remember her life will be held in the summer. Contributions in her memory can be made to the Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice in Berlin.
