Ellen L. LaFlèche

I met Ellen during the protests leading up to the 1978 women's occupation of the UMass student newspaper offices. Ellen remained upbeat and energetic during the occupation, even when UMass was threatening to call in the National Guard. When things got too stressful, she gave the event the feel of a big feminist slumber party and lightened things up. Our paths crossed many times as community health educators and writers. She had the talent of an alchemist in turning illness and loss into...

Beautiful obituary for truly a unique soul. I will forever smile when I think about our bantering about the yankees versus red sox rivalry. Ellen, thank you for being you! To all her family and friends, thank you for supporting her during her battle with cancer.

I met Ellen almost 50 years ago while working at Health Education at University Health Services at UMass. She was a delightful person and one of my favorite co-workers... so full of life! Rest easy dear lady.

Ellen was such an incredible lady! I will always remember when we visited the Botanical Garden at Smith College and grabbed lunch at Fitzwillie´s before Celine and Jeremy were married! I still have many beautiful Christmas ornaments that she gave to my husband and I. She will be greatly missed and I will be forever grateful that she and John allowed their daughter to become part of our family.

I met Ellen in 5th or 6th grade at St John´s School in Plainfield. We were both going through the awkward years of being pre-teens with all of the challenges. We bonded those years as we both fought to be accepted for brains over poise or athleticism. We met again in our junior year of high school. Ellen remained her quirky extroverted self and we were part of the "nerd group" that skipped gym class and had our own study group. After high school our lives went separate ways and we lost...

I remember first meeting Ellen at Forbes Library with her unique sense of style, flowing long skirts and long hair. She was taking the first steps of finding herself as a poet, and every line evidenced her talent, and the strength and originality of her voice. From there, she only grew I loved her work and, even though our paths haven't crossed in a while, I loved her. A very special person is gone from our community, a loss for us all.

This is very sad news ..... Dina Mastrangelo Fort Hill Terrace

My heart dropped when I saw Ellen´s photograph in the digital version of the Gazette. I truly had to make sure I was on the obituary page. Ellen was full of life. She was upbeat - also a little bit offbeat - and she was never at a loss for words of comfort and encouragement. She was a bright star, a remarkable woman, and a loyal friend. Céline, I send sincere condolences to you and your family.

Ellen was a one of one personality. Grateful to have known her most of my whole life. Driving around northampton in the gold van going to every tag-sale with Celine will always be my favorite memory. Ellen had such a great sense of humor and we would always just laugh and laugh and laugh. She championed being an individualist and I will take that with me through life. May she rest in peace and her memory live on through those she loved!