Maryellen Pfeifer

Maryellen Pfeifer passed away on January 1, 2024 surrounded by loved ones at her home in Newton, Massachusetts. A beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and dear friend, her death marked the end of a courageous five-year battle with stage IV colon cancer. She was 71 years old.

Born in Buffalo, New York, to Vincent and Helen Williams, Maryellen graduated from The Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart in 1970 and Canisius College in 1974, with a BA in History and English. During her sophomore year at Canisius, she met her lifelong partner and best friend, Gary Pfeifer.

The couple married in 1974 and moved to Chicago, then Boston, where Maryellen worked in the film industry, eventually securing a leadership role with Warner Brothers. Yet Maryellen discovered that above all, she loved being a mother. Following the birth of her second child, she left her corporate career to focus on raising her family.

An organizer by nature, Maryellen shined enabling the fast-paced lives of her family. She encouraged their various pursuits without reservation. Never one to sit on the sideline, Maryellen actively managed several of her children's teams, fostering enduring connections with many of their teammates and families.

Over the past decade, Maryellen fell in love with being a grandmother. Her seven grandchildren brought her incomparable joy and she cherished every minute spent with them. Each day, she told Gary that they were 'the luckiest people in the world' for having built the family they had.

Those who knew Maryellen will remember her as an altruist. She greeted everyone with an easy smile and a kind word; she was deeply curious about the lives of others-family, friends, and strangers alike. Maryellen lived by the Golden Rule and taught her children to do the same.

But her gentle heart was paired with a tough constitution. When diagnosed with terminal cancer she resolved to keep fighting the disease, while living the life she chose and cherished. Amidst more than one hundred rounds of chemotherapy, Maryellen retained her characteristic joie de vivre. She and Gary continued to embrace shared time together, spending weekends in Maine, visiting her ancestral Ireland, and most recently, traveling to Alaska. Maryellen was profoundly grateful for the care she received at Massachusetts General Hospital and hoped that her journey there would contribute to improved outcomes for future patients.

Maryellen's legacy will endure in the lives of the people she knew, loved, and cared for, as well as those who cared for her. She put good into the world and the world is a better place having had her in it. She will be missed dearly.

Maryellen is survived by her husband of 49 years, Gary Pfeifer of Newton, Massachusetts; her children: Adam (Kate) Pfeifer of Waterbury, Vermont; Jessica (Craig) Stewart of Providence, Rhode Island; and Nick (Lauren) Pfeifer of Natick, Massachusetts. She is also survived by her grandchildren: Veda and Nieve Pfeifer; Jack and Jordan Stewart; and Gracie, Vincent, and William Pfeifer. She was preceded in death by her parents, Vincent and Helen Williams.

Her family and friends will celebrate her life and legacy this spring. Donations in her memory can be made to the Providence Children's Museum, where she spent countless hours marveling at her grandkids' wonder; she would hope to share that magic with others.