ALTAMONT —  Marcia H. Perlee raised six children in a home they said was always a center of warmth, good cheer, and love. She died on Wednesday, April 19, 2017, at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany surrounded by her loving family. She was 89.

The daughter of Isaac and Alma Stevens Hungerford, Mrs. Perlee was born in Troy but at the age of 6 months she moved to her family’s home in Altamont. She grew up in the large Colonial farmhouse that is now the group home at the end of Lincoln Avenue and Western Avenue.

She attended school in Altamont and was the salutatorian of her graduating class from Altamont High School. She studied elementary education at the State University at Plattsburgh. After the World War II, she worked as part of the clerical pool at the General Electric Company and in 1947 was voted “Miss General Electric” in a company-wide beauty and talent contest.

In 1948, she married Gordon Perlee Jr. “They first met and started dating in the seventh grade,” her family wrote in a tribute. “He was the class president and she was the vice president, though in retrospect it should have been the other way around!”

The Perlees were married for 68 years, their marriage ending only with her death.

The couple raised six children in Altamont and later McKownville. Mrs. Perlee was very active in the community. She was a lifelong member of St. John’s Lutheran Church, a member of the Altamont Parent-Teacher Association, Altamont Garden Club, Guilderland Food Pantry, various bridge groups, the Guilderland Zoning Board, and was a director of the Albany Guardian Society.

After retiring to Florida for several years, the Perlees returned to Altamont in 1995 and made their home on the corner of Maple and Western avenues, just steps from Mrs. Perlee’s childhood home. They were the founders of the Hungerford Market and the Perlees enjoyed renewing their earlier friendships and involvement in the community they loved.

Mrs. Perlee loved spending time with friends and family in Altamont and also at her homes at Manasota Beach, Florida and in the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. She also enjoyed traveling, and trips to Switzerland and her ancestral home in Somerset, England were particular favorites.

She was a tireless worker in all that she did, but her family was her unending focus. In a tribute her children wrote: She shone on us like the Sun — constant, powerful, and warm and in her warmth her family blossomed.

In her final hours, her grandchildren traveled from three continents to be with her, reflecting the love and devotion that she shared in such abundance.

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Marcia H. Perlee is survived by her husband of 69 years, Gordon Perlee Jr. of Altamont; her sisters, Jean Krull of Altamont, Margaret Ackley of Kansas City, and Barbara Leahy of Summerfield, Florida; her children, Gordon E. Perlee III and his wife, Erin, of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; David B. Perlee and his wife, Kathy, of Englewood, Florida, Lisa Puvogel and her husband, Stephen, of Kinderhook; Jeffrey S. Perlee of Altamont, and Suzanne Hale and her husband, Kevin, also of Altamont, and her daughter-in-law, Donna Perlee of Manchester, New Hampshire.

Her son Brian H. Perlee, Donna’s husband, died before her “and greeted his Mom in heaven,” her family wrote.

She is also survived by her grandchildren, Christopher Perlee of Albany; Daniel Perlee of Los Angeles; Brendan Perlee of Morristown, New Jersey; Caralyn Perlee of Dunkirk, France; Meghan Lynch of Buffalo; Ryan Puvogel of Baltimore; Stephen Puvogel of Pittsburg; Justin Puvogel of Seoul, South Korea; Kieran Puvogel of Buffalo; Emily, Jack and Ben Hale of Altamont; Evan Perlee, also of Altamont; and Jennifer Hannah of Fanwood, New Jersey, Thomas Perlee of Geneseo, New York, and Madalyn Perlee of Tampa, Florida.

 She is survived, too, by eight great-grandchildren and by 24 nieces and nephews.

A memorial service was held Saturday, April 22, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Altamont.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Altamont Free Library, 179 Main Street Altamont, NY 12009.