ELINOR BAKER

BAKER, Elinor "Ellie" (Pappas) Of Falmouth, a former Tyngsboro resident, passed away peacefully on January 20th at the age of 67 after a 3 year battle with angiosarcoma. She was a breast cancer survivor before becoming sick again in 2011. Ellie was born in Lowell, MA, the youngest of four children of the late Angelo "Dan" Pappas (Pappaconstantinou) and the late Sophie Pappas. Ellie grew up in Chelmsford, graduated from Chelmsford High School in 1964 and received her Bachelors Degree in Education from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst in 1969. Ellie is survived by her devoted husband and best friend Bob with whom she shared the last 45 years of her life. Married in 1971, Ellie and Bob spent 34 years in Tyngsboro before building a new home and retiring to E. Falmouth, MA in 2007. She is survived by her three children: Andrew and his wife Suzanne of Needham, Jeff and his wife Emily Silver of Armonk, NY, and Jen and her husband Frank Gorke of Wayland. Ellie was a cherished Ya-Ya to Madison and Olivia of Needham, Natalie of Armonk, and Sophia and Tess of Wayland. She is also survived by her sister-in-law Susan Baker and her husband John MacDonald of Essex, her mother-in-law, Shirley Baker of Peabody as well as several nieces and nephews. Upon graduation in 1969, Ellie began a 35 year career as an elementary teacher in Dracut, MA. She spent the last thirty of those years at the Dracut Middle School (now the Brookside) where she taught third grade. She was devoted to her students and passionate about encouraging them to work hard and develop their talents as well as teaching them the skills they needed and to always have a love of learning. She was a member of the Dracut Teachers Association, the Massachusetts Teachers Association and the National Education Association. Ellie was a member of the Tyngsboro Garden Club and was an Alternate Delegate to the 2002 State Democratic Convention. She also was part of the Tyngsboro Scholarship Foundation serving as its Treasurer. Family was everything to Ellie and she was most proud of the personal, educational and professional accomplishments of Andy, Jeff and Jen. She welcomed Suzanne, Emily and Frank into the family and couldnt do enough for her five granddaughters. From Camp Baker in Tyngsboro to the house on the Cape, Ellie loved to host her children and their friends and she was passionate about cooking and baking for them. She took great pleasure in passing on her recipes and teaching the next generation her tricks of the trade and she cherished the family visits and hosting holiday dinners. A great sports fan, Ellie loved the local teams but especially her beloved Red Sox she could watch every inning of every game. Ellie was supported by her family during this three year battle and took great comfort in being surrounded by them in her final weeks. The family wishes to thank the VNA of Cape Cod, Dr. James Butrynski, Dr. Supriya Saha, and RN Michael Comeau as well as all the nurses and support staff of the 9th floor of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute staff for their compassion, professionalism and tireless efforts in this battle. There are no adequate words to fully express the gratitude of the family for their kindness and caring. Her family will miss her greatly but she lives on as their inspiration and role model. She would urge all to read to their children and grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations in Ellies memory be made to the Dracut Teachers Association Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 178, Dracut, MA 01826. A private funeral will be held at Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home in FALMOUTH and a Celebration of Ellies life will be held at the Stonehedge Inn in Tyngsboro on Friday, January 31st, from 4:00 to 7:00PM where friends and family can share memories. For online guestbook and directions visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com. Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home Falmouth, MA 02540 (508) 540-4172