FAIRLEE, VT — Traveller, Poet, Painter, Rule Breaker
Robert Paul MacRae, 64, of Fairlee, VT, passed away on May 24, 2019.
As a boy, Bob was active in swimming, baseball, music, and loved to read.
In his teens he got involved in the transcendental meditation movement
and remained devoted to the practice his entire life.
He spent time in Europe and Jamaica, hitchhiked all over the US, climbed
mountains, and loved to swim, even in the coldest streams. All of this
was the inspiration for much of his poetry. Bob was a great admirer of
Walt Whitman, and actually memorized The Leaves Of Grass. He also had a
worthy collection of books written by Robert Graves.
In the 1980’s, he moved to San Francisco where he was passionately
involved in the production of the Haight-Ashbury Repertory Theatre (HART).
After 10 years, he moved back to New England where he married and raised
his son, Reece. He self-published some books of poetry most notable the
Lakes of the Clouds. In more recent years, and in spite of his illness,
he began to paint and took his traveling show (inspired by the works of
Lewis Carroll) to several libraries throughout New England.
Bob is survived by his loving son Reece MacRae & wife Kate, brother
Steve McRae & wife Mary, sister Ginger Gibeault, niece Heather Tabisola
& husband Joe, their two adorable children Camden & Caleb, and many
caring friends. Bob was always a kind-hearted soul, who loved Christmas,
Halloween, plays on words (MacRaeisms) and a good practical joke. We
miss him so.
A memorial gathering will be held at Echo Lake State Park, 68 Echo Lake
Road, North Conway, NH, 10am on Saturday July 27th. For directions,
please follow this link:
https://www.nhstateparks.org/visit/state-parks/echo-lakes-state-park