Obituary
Eleanor Marie Shepardson passed away on January 15th, 2019 after a courageous battle with pulmonary fibrosis. Eleanor (Ellie) was born on January 3rd, 1937 to George and Sophie Placzek in Westfield Massachusetts. She was a graduate of Westfield High School. Eleanor went on to attend the University of Massachusetts where she earned a Bachelors of Arts degree as well as a Master of Arts degree in history. She studied Law at Western New England College where she received her Juries Doctor degree. Ellie passed the Bar exam in both Massachusetts and Maine where she practiced law for over 10 years. After receiving the calling, Ellie attended the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA and received a Masters of Divinity, and became an ordained Minister of the United Church of Christ. The ordainment ceremony was performed at the First Congregational Church in Westfield, Massachusetts.
Ellie then became the Director at the Saint Mary's Center in Oakland California where she assisted Homeless seniors. As both an Attorney and Minister, she dedicated her life to serving people who were less fortunate. She did this with exceptional empathy and compassion; often not accepting payment for services to others.
Ellie spent time on both coasts. She drove across the country several times camping along the way and also flew across country multiple times spending several months at a time on each coast. She was very involved in politics, Women's rights and was a warrior against injustice. She attended the First Women’s Conference in Texas in 1975 and the National Women's March in both 2017 & 2018. She was a huge fan of the Rachel Maddow show. Those who were close to her knew better than to try and disturb her when Rachel was on.
Ellie was an avid reader and would often read four or five books all at the same time. She loved gardening and would often say how working in the Earth made her feel more connected to the planet. She loved to help things grow and gardening helped keep her centered and grounded. Her love of the great outdoors included camping in Vermont and among the magnificent redwoods in northern California. Ellie loved to cook and was always willing to try new recipes; especially on her children. She loved baseball and was an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox. At the age of six, she knew every player and their statistics on the entire Red Sox roster! She was thrilled to have seen the Red Sox win four World Series in the last fifteen years.
Her
favorite time of year was Christmas. Ellie loved everything about
this holiday. She loved to cook for her family and sing Christmas
carols. Ellie would often start playing Christmas music in August. If
you were fortunate to be around her during the Christmas season, you
couldn't help to feel her positive energy, love and joy.
Ellie is pre-deceased by her brother George and his wife Jackie from Enfield, Ct. She is survived by her brother Vincent and his wife Kathy; her brother Steve and his wife Lori all from Westfield, Massachusetts. She also leaves four children: her son Steve and his partner Eileen from West Springfield, Massachusetts; her daughters Lisa and her husband Jay from Southampton, Massachusetts; Ann and her husband Michael from Oakland, California; and her son Peter from South Hadley, Massachusetts. She had five grandchildren: Stephanie, Heather, Zachary, Sarah and Melissa as well as many nephews & nieces.
Ellie was a very kind, passionate, generous soul who will be greatly missed. In lieu of flowers we ask that you consider making donations to:
The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation and/or The Breast Cancer Foundation.