Elise (Butch) Raymond Wallace

Elise (Butch) Raymond Wallace 1933-2019

Elise Raymond Wallace, known to all affectionately as "Butch," passed away peacefully at home in Sherborn, Massachusetts on Wednesday, May 22 surrounded by her loved ones.

Butch was born on September 12, 1933 to Jonathan Stone Raymond and Pauline Pollard Raymond, the youngest of their six children. She graduated from St. Timothy's School in Baltimore and received a BA from Mount Holyoke College, where she majored in religion. She earned her master's degree from Simmons School of Social Work, and stayed in Boston to pursue a career in social work.

Butch met the love of her life, Neil, on a chance visit to the Harvard Law Library. They celebrated their wedding on September 7, 1957, beginning a marriage that would last 62 years. They shared a deep devotion to one another. Together, they raised three children, and traveled the world.

Throughout her life Butch worked to help others, applying her creativity and energy in countless ways. She served for decades as a board member of the Cotting School. The school helps special needs children achieve their highest potential. She was a trustee of Noble and Greenough School and inspired many students over the years to run the Boston Marathon and raise financial aid for scholarships, co-founding the Nobles Marathon Fund the second largest scholarship fund at Nobles. She was a devoted parishioner of St Paul's Episcopal Church in Dedham where she served a term as Junior Warden on the vestry. She served on the board of DARE Family Services and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. She was involved in advancing obstetric care and research at the Brigham and Women's Hospital--where she, her children, and her grandchildren were all born. She was on the advisory committee of the Trustees of Reservations and she was the co-recipient of the Colonel Francis T. Colby Society Award which is bestowed on members of The Museum of Science family who have made extraordinary contributions of time, treasure, and talent.

She ran ten Marathons (into her 70's), was an avid tennis player and sailor, making two trans-Atlantic crossings. In her younger years, she was a lead actress in the Dover Foundation performances of Sabrina Fair, My Three Angels, and Guys and Dolls.


Butch was full of love and compassion. She radiated warmth and cheer, and always had a kind word for everybody. She simply met the world with kindness. It seemed her reason for being was to buoy up everyone she met on her path.

She was a wonderful friend to so many, maintaining lifelong relationships with friends she made, as a young child, during summers spent in Gloucester, at St. Tim's, Mt. Holyoke and Simmons, on lacrosse sidelines, in summer and autumn on the coast of Maine, in church, in her community, and really everywhere she went.

She was a loving wife and mother. She adored her five grandchildren, criss-crossing New England to cheer them on at every athletic game and theatrical performance, from pre-school through college.

And she always had a loyal dog at her heels, accompanied by Barrister, Sabrina, Bentley, Cider, Panther, Periosos, Blade, Sam, and Jetta over the years. One always felt happier after spending time with her.

Butch is survived by her husband Neil Wallace, her children Brad Wallace and his wife Ann Wallace, Jay Wallace and his wife Lisa McGovern, and Julie Bennett, and her grandchildren Marlana Wallace, Jackie Wallace, Mac Wallace, Jake Bennett, and Drew Bennett. Her brother Jock Raymond, her sisters Pauline Raymond, Joan Raymond, Ann Luce, and Priscilla Lull, and her son-in-law Bobby Bennett predeceased her.

Services will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, June 9th at St Paul's Episcopal Church, Dedham, MA. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Cotting School or the Nobles Marathon Endowment Fund.