Ellen Shearer

Ellen L . Shearer , 65, of Arlington, died peacefully on February 7, 2012 at the Elizabeth de Rham Hospice Home in Cambridge.

Born in Wakefield on December 14, 1946, she was the daughter of the late Thomas Shearer and Anne "Nancy" Hurton.

Ellen's father was in the Navy so she spent her childhood moving from Massachusetts to Naples, Italy, Rhode Island, Virginia, Long Beach, California, and Vallejo California, where she graduated from high school. She then attended Northeastern University in Boston in the late '60's. She then lived in Tennessee and Florida before moving back to Massachusetts where she has lived the past 24 years. For most of her working years, she was a medical technologist.

Ellen struggled with a disability through much of her life, but in the past twenty years was able to live independently and contributed much to her community. She volunteered at several nursing homes, libraries and most notably the Museum of Science where she received recognition on May 4, 2011 for over 2000 plus hours of volunteer work in the Discovery Center, which gave her great joy.

Ellen is survived by Janis Griffin and Anne Marie Shearer of Tennessee, an uncle and aunt Joe and Jean Shearer and their children of Tennessee, her loving cousins Stephen Curran of Hudson, Florida, Martha Bedell of Lumberton, North Carolina, David Curran of Port Richey, Florida, and Maureen Curran of Wakefield, Mass., and several second cousins. She was the loving niece of the late Robert Hurton, Matthew Hurton, Mary Hurton, Margaret Curran, and Nora Hurton all of Wakefield.

She is also survived by the loving caretakers she has had from the Elliott Community Human Services whose compassion and constant outreach provided Ellen with the support she needed to live an independent life.

The family is especially grateful also to all the staff and volunteers at the Elizabeth de Rham Hospice House in Cambridge where Ellen lived the last three weeks of her life.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday at St. Florence Church, 47 Butler Avenue, Wakefield at 11 a.m. Visitation for relatives and friends will be held at the McDonald Funeral Home, 19 Yale Avenue, Wakefield prior to the Mass from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Interment will be at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Stoneham at a later date, where Ellen will be laid to rest with her grandparents, aunts, and uncle.

In lieu of flowers contributions may be made in her memory to the Elliott Community Health Services, 186 Bedford Street, Lexington, Mass., 02420.


Read Ellen Shearer's Obituary and Guestbook on www.mcdonaldfs.com.

Visitation

McDonald Funeral Home
19 Yale Ave.
Wakefield , MA US 01880
Saturday, February 11, 2012, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Service

St. Agnes Church
186 Woburn St.
Reading , MA US 01867
Saturday, February 11, 2012, 11:00 AM