Obituary of Michael Abram Relyea

Essex Junction, Michael Abram Relyea 68, passed away Thursday, December 29th, 2016, in Burlington, Vermont, with his family by his side. Michael fought a brave fight with cancer, but simply wanted to be remembered as a husband, Dad, and Papa rather than another cancer death. Michael was born in Schenectady, NY on November 3rd, 1948 the son of the late Melvin and Cecile Maynard Relyea. Michael and Marilyn Miller met in 1965 and were married on April 1st, 1967, devoted to each other from the day they met, they lived in Essex Center for 47 years in the house that Michael built for his family. He was a devoted father and always referred to his daughters as “Mike’s Girls”. All his grandchildren and great grandchildren called him Papa, and there was deep mutual adoration. Michael enjoyed life. He attained his high school diploma at the age of 63, and called it one of his greatest accomplishments. He loved to fish Lake Champlain, where his parents had a camp, which was like a second home to him, at the Sand Dunes in Colchester for several years. A hard worker that worked all his life to provide for his family. He worked as an auto mechanic, machinist, and retired from the VT Agency of Transportation in 2004 where he worked as a fabricator and plow truck operator. He spent recent years taking trips with his wife and daughters, and spending time with his grandchildren teaching them to shoot and fish. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn, his daughters and their spouses; Angela and Matt Amstein, Kathy and David Terry, Mary Jo and Nate Catella, Michelle Relyea and her fiancé Tim Shover, eight grandchildren; Christopher Relyea, Devin Marshall, Tonya Savage, Shane and wife Meghan Raymond, Elizabeth Raymond and partner Jason Hammond, Dalton Marshall, Seth Amstein, and Jared Amstein. Michael also is survived by nine great grandchildren; Cody, Skye, Alexis, Emily, Keyra, Lily, Morgan, Leigha, and Phoebe, three brothers and one sister; Henry and Lynn Relyea, Richard Relyea, David and Susan Relyea, and Margret and Robert Trayah, and two sister-in-law’s; Betty Medlar and Marleen McCoy and one brother in-law, Wayne and Marilyn Miller. As per Michael’s wishes, there will be no funeral services. Donations may be made in Michael’s memory to Essex Rescue, 1 Educational Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452-3172 or the American Cancer Society, VT Chapter, 55 Day Lane, Williston, VT 05495-1460