VIRGINIA BEACH, March 30 – Eleanor Harris MacRae passed away Wednesday, March 17, 2010 in Virginia Beach. She was born April 12, 1916 in Prince Edward County, 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, NC, for 65 years, and was the proud mother of four sons, Howard I. Smith (deceased) of Richmond, Cary Marshall Smith of Roanoke, Neill MacRae III of Roanoke, and Roderick MacRae of Lynchburg.

She is survived by five grand-children and nine great-grandchildren who fondly called her Ba; a sister, Louise Harris Wilck of Farmville; three nieces and one nephew.

Upon her husband's retirement in 1969, the family moved from Roanoke to Virginia Beach where they enjoyed their second career in real estate. Mrs. MacRae 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.

Her life was celebrated in a memorial service at the Beach-lawn Baptist Church, Virginia Beach.

Cremation Society of Virginia assisted the family.