Leah L. Ellis

Leah Louise Ellis, June 23, 2012 to January 14, 2025. Leah passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family after a courageous, four-year battle with medulloblastoma.

Leah leaves behind countless beloved family and friends from throughout her life. She is survived by her adoring parents, Neal Ellis and Elena Proakis Ellis, her beloved brother, Jack Ellis, her loving grandparents, Felia and John Proakis and Michael Ellis, her godparents, Betty Themeles and Christopher Ellis, and her many loving aunts, uncles, and cousins. She also leaves behind her sweet dog, Duffy. She is predeceased by her paternal grandmother, Louise Vetterling Ellis, and her Grammy, Jackie Elaine Carmody. Leah will be sorely missed by her wonderful community of friends, teachers, and admirers in Wakefield and beyond.

Leah lived her entire life in her home in the Greenwood section of Wakefield, MA. She attended preschool at the Stoneham YMCA Academy, followed by K-4 at the Greenwood Elementary School, and fifth to seventh grade at the Galvin Middle School. Leah adored school and learning of all kinds. She excelled at math and writing and aspired to go to college and become a librarian. Trips with Dad to the Beebe Library were a highlight of any day. 

Leah had boundless enthusiasm for life, including music, dance, crafts, animals (especially horses, hamsters, and dogs), homework, scouting, summer camp, trips to Cape Cod, helping others through charitable causes, and, most of all, time spent with family and friends. Leah was an avid lover of music and dance. Her classes at Dance Track were one of her favorite activities, and she loved to practice dance at home. Leah loved pop music and movie soundtracks and jumped at the chance to DJ on any car ride. She also loved crafts, including crocheting in recent years. This past year she achieved a long-time goal of starting her own YouTube channel, which she named Lucky Leah. Leah truly felt lucky and would frequently tell her family how much she loved her life, aside from having cancer. She never wanted to be defined by her illness, and she was inspirational to many for her ability to focus on the people and activities she loved. She was often told that her beautiful smile could light up any room. 

Leah's strength, love, and smile will be sorely missed by her loving family, friends, Wakefield community, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church family, Camp Casco counselors and campers, and care team at the Dana Farber Jimmy Fund Clinic.

The Ellis family invites you to calling hours at the McDonald Funeral Home, 19 Yale Ave., Wakefield on Friday January 17 from 2:00 – 6:00 p.m. Funeral and burial services will be private. The family welcomes all to attend a celebration of Leah’s life in the coming weeks, with details to follow.

Leah loved bright colors, so in honor of Leah please wear colorful attire to the calling hours. Thank you.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Leah's memory can be made to Ironstone Farm (https://ironstonefarm.org/), Camp Casco (https://www.campcasco.org/), or the Medulloblastoma Initiative (https://mbinitiative.org/en/). May her memory be eternal.

The family welcomes all to attend a celebration of Leah’s life on April 5, 2025 at 12:00 PM at the Americal Civic Center, 467 Main Street, Wakefield, MA. Please RSVP here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfpVJb2-yDIsX81T1mNDCcGFUjxVdf6df87eQiG8UjN1Iix0Q/viewform?usp=header