Elaine E. (Massad) Joseph

SHREWSBURY - Elaine Joseph had style and grace. Her fashion choices would be characterized by simple elegance. She dressed and accessorized for every occasion and was always perfectly put together before ever stepping out. The lipstick was just the right shade, the nail polish always fresh, her hair perfectly styled, and the perfect shoe was the final accompaniment. But her elegance, authenticity, and confidence extended far beyond her clothing choices.

Elaine E. Massad was born on March 29, 1938, in Worcester a daughter of the late Philip M. and Gladys V. (Paquette) Massad. Raised in Shrewsbury she was a graduate of the former Maj. Howard Beal School and earned her Associate Degree from Centenary College for Women in Hackettstown, New Jersey. She married Richard N. ‘Dick’ Joseph on September 2, 1962, in Our Lady of Mercy Church at its former location on Mulberry Street. With proud roots to their Lebanese heritage, they made a great team for 53 years until his death on February 13, 2016.

Elaine worked as an administrative assistant at the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology in Shrewsbury for many years.

Her family owned and operated Holden Hills Country Club and it is here perhaps where her love for the game of golf might have been rooted but she really did not take the game up until she was 48 years old…and wow was she a natural and good at it! Elaine was club champion numerous times at Oak Hill Country Club in Fitchburg where she and Dick belonged for many years. She was a member of the Massachusetts Women’s Golf Association.

Equally fun and challenging for her was a good card game. A Master Bridge player she was a member of the Bridge Club of Central MA and the American Bridge Contract League. She played competitively both locally and internationally. Elaine was a familiar face at the Senior Centers in Shrewsbury, Holden and West Boylston, where she played cards and bridge religiously. But perhaps the most fun card games were with her granddaughter, Lacey. A strong competitor of all things, Elaine was sure to record their ongoing winnings and bragging rights in a little notebook. She also enjoyed crochet and sewing, along with an avid passion for Korean and Turkish films. She was a member of Saint Mary’s Parish.

For the last ten years, Elaine would spend many nights enjoying her favorite “beverage” while cherishing every moment spent living in her cozy in-law apartment attached to her daughter’s home. It was a wonderful last chapter where she was comforted knowing she was footsteps from her daughter and granddaughters with the added benefits of a lot of fun.

Elaine passed in her home with family on Monday, October 20, 2025, after an illness. She was 87.

In addition to her husband, Dick, she was predeceased by her son-in-law, Lenny Tomaiolo, her brother, Roger Massad, and brother-in-law, Robert Joseph.

She leaves her children, Richard N. 'Richie' Joseph Jr. (Mary Anne) and Wendy A. Tomaiolo (late Leonard 'Lenny') all of Shrewsbury; her grandchildren, Lindsey A. and Lacey A. Tomaiolo, Richie P. and Tyler T. Joseph; her sister, Frances R. Wilson of Jupiter, Florida; in-laws, Carol Joseph (late Robert) and Jacqueline Barrett (Thomas) all of Worcester; also survived by many nieces and nephews.

Family and friends will honor Elaine's life by gathering for a Morning Wake on Saturday, October 25th from 10:00 a.m. to 12 Noon in Saint Mary's Church, 640 Main Street, Shrewsbury, followed by her funeral Mass celebrated at 12 Noon. Burial will follow in Mountain View Cemetery, Shrewsbury.

Arrangements by James + John Heald of The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street, Waltham.