Georgiana (Georgie) Cheney, 89, died at her home on Saturday, July 16. She was born on July 18, 1933, in Qingdao China, while her parents were stationed there with the U.S. Navy. Her mother, Katharine Hooker Palmer had literally taken a “slow boat to China” from San Diego a year earlier, to join and then marry her fiancé, Robie Ellis Palmer in Qingdao. As the daughter of a naval officer, she moved many times during her youth and graduated from Newton (MA) High School. Georgie attended university in Germany and then Seattle, where she graduated from the University of Washington. In 1957, her parents retired to Westminster, VT, while Georgie and her sister, Alex embraced big city life in Manhattan. They lived in Greenwich Village and Georgie worked at Tiffany & Company. Georgie met her future husband, George Cheney at a Vermont Academy football game. They were married in Bellows Falls, VT in 1959 and after short stints in Walpole, NH and Pine Lake, MI they eventually settled in Wilton, CT for 38 years. In later years, Georgie worked in investment management as a brokerage sales assistant. In 2005, they moved back to Walpole for their retirement. 

An avid sailor, tennis player and skier, Georgie and her family pursued adventures too numerous to count, and she raised her children to love the ocean and mountains. After decades of family sailing trips throughout Long Island Sound and Cape Cod, Georgie could tell you firsthand where hidden sandbars were and where anchors would likely drag at 2 AM! 

Georgie enjoyed gardening, discovering and collecting antique furniture and china, long walks around Walpole with her beloved dog, Mischief, and touring Vermont and New Hampshire back roads in the classic MG and Porsche cars that George restored. She loved Walpole and her time spent with many friends and neighbors, including the Women of Walpole and her book group. 

She leaves behind her husband, George; her children, William Hooker (Cari Lee) of San Diego, CA, George Andrew (Kerry Armstrong) of Bethesda, MD, and Diamante (Paul Smith) of Sharon, MA; two grandsons and five granddaughters; and sister-in-law, Sushma Palmer. She was predeceased by her sister, Alexandra Palmer and brother, Ambassador Robie Marcus “Mark” Palmer. 

Georgie’s love and care for her family as a wife, mother and grandmother came first and foremost throughout her lifetime. She will be greatly missed by all. 

A funeral service will be held for Georgie on Saturday, July 30 at 1:00 PM at the Immanuel Episcopal Church in Bellows Falls, VT, officiated by Reverend, Steve Fuller, followed by a burial in the Immanuel Church Yard Cemetery.