Ruth "Bunny" Gretchen Graham Macleay, 97, a longtime resident of Severna Park, MD, passed away on August 14, 2024, surrounded by her loving family.

Bunny was born on November 17, 1926, to William Robert and Marguerite Petree Graham in her family's farmhouse in Kenbridge, Virginia, the youngest of five children. Bunny's favorite memories of her childhood in Kenbridge included singing in church and with her friends, climbing trees on the farm with her sister, and working in the tobacco fields during the growing season. After the death of her father in 1942, they sold the farm, and she and her mother moved to Blackstone, VA. They resided on the campus of the Blackstone College for Girls, where her mother took a job as house mother, and Bunny was a student before graduating in 1944 from Blackstone High School.

Bunny enrolled at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1948. She remembered her time at Guilford with such fondness, making many lifelong friends.

In 1950, at a square dance, she met Robert Macleay while both were working in Washington, DC. They married in 1951 and moved to California, later moving to Columbia, MO, Williamsburg, VA, and Golden, CO, before settling in Severna Park in 1965.

One of Bunny's passions was being a schoolteacher. She retired from Anne Arundel County Public Schools in 1990, where she spent most of her time at Severna Park Elementary School teaching fourth grade and later, first grade. Earlier in her career, she taught at a two-room schoolhouse in Rocheport, MO, where she not only taught the upper grades, but was also the principal. That little schoolhouse has since become a B&B and she and Bob had the opportunity to stay overnight there on a trip out west.

Another of Bunny's passions was music. She loved to play the piano. She would sit down at her piano any chance she got and play church hymns, doing so just a few weeks before her death. She sang in the choir at St. Martin's-in-the Field Episcopal Church for many years. Bunny enjoyed quilting and was a member of the Annapolis Quilt Guild. She made quilts for all her children and grandchildren and made many baby quilts for friends and relatives with newborns, in addition to so many other quilts. She was interested in genealogy and was a member of the DAR. Another big passion was reading. Bunny especially loved to go with her daughter to her neighborhood beach to sit and read. At the age of 91, she decided to start her own book club. She handwrote a flyer, made copies, and then walked up and down her street to deliver them to her neighbors. She ended up getting a nice group of neighbors of all ages that gathered monthly to discuss books for several years!

Bunny and Bob enjoyed sailing on their boat, Bonte. They also took an annual road trip to CO, and later SD to visit their son and daughter-in-law. Bunny enjoyed the outdoors. Until recently, she continued to take walks around the neighborhood and the bike trail. At the age of 94 she took a road trip with her daughter that included a stop at Natural Bridge where she and Bob spent their honeymoon. She effortlessly navigated the steps down to the trails and then back up. Two summers ago, at the age of 95 she went blueberry picking in Maine. Every time she was near a body of water, she had to dip a toe in! She was a marvel.

Bunny always had a smile on her face, even during times of adversity. Literally and figuratively, Bunny always stopped to smell the roses. She was always present in the moment, never wanting to miss a thing!

Above all, Bunny's biggest passion in life was her family. She took tremendous pleasure in being around her children, being "Grandma Sugar Bunny" to the grandchildren, and getting to meet her first great-grandchild. She was loved and loving and will be missed by all of us.

She is survived by two sons, Stephen R. Macleay and his wife Nancy of Rapid City, SD and Kenneth G. Macleay and his wife Regina of Severna Park, MD, one daughter, Virginia L. Barnett of Ferndale, MD and her partner Jeff Epstein, six grandchildren, Maggie, Nicholas, Katie, Michael, John, and Tony Macleay, and a great-grandson Luca. Bunny was predeceased by her cherished husband of 66 years, Dr. Robert Q. Macleay, Sr., her son Robert Q. Macleay, Jr., her firstborn grandson Jessie "Jay" Barnett IV, and her two brothers and two sisters.

Family and friends may visit on Thursday, August 22, 2024 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm & 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Barranco Severna Park Funeral Home & Cremation Care, P.A., 495 Ritchie Hwy, Severna Park, MD 21146. A funeral service will be held on Friday, August 23, 2024 at 11:00 am in St. Martin's-in-the-Field Episcopal Church, 375 Benfield Rd, Severna Park, MD 21146. Interment will follow in St. Anne's Cemetery in Annapolis.