Death Announced of Heather MacLeod Payer Boylan, Raised in Old Lyme

Heather MacLeod Payer Boylan, 66, passed away on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, after a valiant battle with cancer.

Heather was born on June 12, 1960, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She grew up in Old Lyme and graduated from the Hammonasset School in Madison. She attended Bennington College in Vermont, from which she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology in 1983. After graduation, she moved to New York City where she spent several years before marrying Neil Boylan and moving to California. There, she became a mother to her son, Henry Boylan, who was the love and light of her life.

Heather was a very creative and free spirit with a great flair for fashion, décor, art and style. She was an artist at heart and, apart from watercolor painting, delved into designing and creating her own jewelry while living in California. She had a droll sense of humor and was very loving and always generous with her family and friends.

Heather will be sadly missed by her son, Henry, of Middlebury, Vermont; her mother, Judy Payer, and brother Jonathan of Ivoryton; her sister Holly McGowan and husband Martin McGowan; her niece and nephews Lucy, Charles and Jack of Nantucket, Massachusetts; her many cousins; her two aunts; and her friends, especially Keith Signore and Lou Denette.

A private celebration of her life for family and friends will take place at a later date.