Elaine Dale Leo

Elaine’s parents were Edward Erastus Piper and Sarah Ann MacFarland of Quincy, MA. Elaine’s paternal grandparents were Jonathan Foster Piper and Anne Elizabeth Parry Piper of Hough’s Neck, Quincy, MA. Elaine’s maternal grandparents were Joseph H. MacFarland and Elizabeth Steeves MacFarland.

In the 1880s grandmother Elizabeth Steeves emigrated from Iceland to Nova Scotia and she later moved to New England. Both families had deep roots in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Elaine’s parents’ marriage in 1925 ended in divorce in 1936. Soon afterward Elaine’s father Edward remarried and started a new family in Abington, MA.

Amid the Depression young Elaine lived for a time with relatives in Manchester, NH. In March 1941 Elaine’s mother Sarah Piper married bakery manager George Whitelaw in Quincy, MA. The family moved to Malden, MA. In December 1942 Elaine was adopted by George Whitelaw and her name was changed to Elaine Dale Whitelaw.

In 1943 Elaine’s stepfather George left the marriage, and in 1945 George Whitelaw left the US for his native Scotland.

During WW II years Elaine served as a neighborhood air raid warden in Malden.

In 1945 Elaine graduated from Malden High School where she was known as Sandy. The Maldonian yearbook said of her, “Vitality calls for Sandy, who is well-known and liked by all … the ideal sportswoman … actively interested in golf and co-captain of the cheerleading squad … main ambition is to fly … here’s to a happy landing Sandy.”

Elaine’s personal heroes included Amelia Earhart and other adventuresome aviators of the day. In high school Elaine had studied meteorology and mechanical drawing.

As graduation from high school approached in May 1945 Elaine volunteered for the Army Air Forces Women’s Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) Training Program. Elaine was not called to serve in military aviation, and as the US war effort wound down she began a career in the booming commercial aviation industry at Revere Airport near Boston.

While working at Revere Airport Elaine served as a member the Civilian Air Corp, accumulated flight time, and while just 19 years old, Elaine Whitelaw soloed to earn her pilot’s license in October 1947.

Elaine was witness to the golden age of flight and the larger-than-life characters whose dashing images stir memories of that romantic era.

In 1948 Elaine Dale Whitelaw was married to former Navy pilot John Patrick Leo of Bronxville, NY. In 1949 John and Elaine Leo moved to Suffield, CT and raised three children; John Patrick Leo, Jr., Quentin Brian Leo, and Sara Ann Leo. They were divorced in 1972.

While in Suffield, Elaine was an active member of the Suffield Historical Society, and she developed a deep interest in the history of the Connecticut Valley. At the same Elaine pursued interests in seemingly divergent disciplines of early American spinning and weaving, and contemporary fashion design. During the 1960s Elaine’s skill and artistry attracted a local following and a wider audience as a guest host on Hartford area and Western Massachusetts broadcast programs.

In 1990, Elaine retired to Ludlow, VT where she was known simply as Piper. As a life-long sportswoman Piper enjoyed bicycling, hiking, kayaking, and alpine skiing in Vermont for most of her next 25 years.

For decades in Vermont Piper studied the migration of Celts (whose origins were in Ireland and Scotland) to North America where they escaped centuries of Viking slavery in Iceland. Evidence of late Iron Age Celtic migrations throughout most of what is now eastern Canada and New England indicates that significant Celtic populations lived harmoniously for centuries among neighboring Native American tribes. These findings are the basis of an historical novel Piper was writing at the time of her death. The novel Moggy Knew is dedicated to Piper’s grandson MacGregor Leo.

Piper’s deep interests New England history, a passion for fiber arts, and her easy-going enjoyment of others is reflected in the organizations and people with whom she chose to spend what she often said were the best years of her life.

Center for Research on Vermont

Northeast Handspinners Association

Black River Museum

Fletcher Farm School for the Arts & Crafts

The Coolidge Homestead

Six Loose Ladies Fiber Arts

Black River Good Neighbors

Piper is survived by son Quentin and his wife Meg Leo of New Canaan, CT; grandson MacGregor Leo of Los Angeles, CA; step granddaughter Courtney Kennedy of Greenwich, CT; and half-sister Gloria Jean (Piper) Winiewicz of Abington, MA and Honolulu, HI.

Piper also leaves dear friend Jean Eggleston and her family, more than 20 nieces and nephews, and hundreds of friends and acquaintances in Ludlow and throughout New England.

A celebration of Piper’s life will be held on Saturday, June 20, 2015, at 11 AM, at the United Church of Ludlow, 48 Pleasant Street, Ludlow, VT.

In accord with Piper’s wishes, hand spinners and knitters are invited to ply their crafts during the celebration service. A reception in the church hall will follow the service.