[broadstreet zone=”63788″]
[broadstreet zone=”66384″]
FRAMINGHAM – Ellen Marie (Beatty) Corfield beloved daughter, wife, mother, and nana–died peacefully, surrounded by her family on December 17, 2022. She had been diagnosed with ALS 7-months prior.
Born in Dorchester, MA, on November 1, 1953, Ellen grew up in Watertown.
She met the love of her life, Richard Corfield, at a night club in the city, where she found him eating a hot dog by the bar. They were married on April 5, 1975. Richard and “his bride” eventually settled in Framingham to raise their family, happily calling it home for more than 30 years.
Ellen worked in the administrative offices of Staples, Inc., retiring in 2019. Her true vocation, though, was being Mom to Megan and Brian, and Nana to her four grandchildren. During their school years, Megan and Brian recall their mom’s enthusiastic involvement with the PTO: she turned Potter Road Elementary School into the Amazon rainforest; worked with the zoo to bring a California condor to the local football field; and provided other immersive and memorable learning experiences focused on animals, music, and history–all things she loved as much as the kids did.
As a nana, Ellen truly excelled. She was known to bring out the previous generation’s treasured objects for play, from Patty Playpal to plastic dinosaurs. While she “made all the rules,” as her grandson liked to say, Ellen was most content playing games, reading books like Harold and the Purple Crayon, and snuggling with her grandkids.
Ellen loved sewing and crafting for others; her specialties were handmade greeting cards, lovingly curated scrapbooks, and beautifully arranged holly centerpieces for the Christmas season. She had the soul of a poet–looking back on the year through verse every Thanksgiving–and the mind of a planner. The bridal and baby showers she hosted were unmatched in both theme and impact (imagine a life-sized figurine made of housewares, or a tender story told through baby bibs!).
Ellen’s energy and love infused every gathering; she had a grand sense of what mattered, and she attended to the smallest of details. She sparked wonder in her children and magic for her grandchildren, who will always think of her as they watch the prisms in her dining room window catch the sunlight. Those rainbows dancing on the walls are a special reminder of Ellen’s presence.
In addition to time with family, Ellen enjoyed making memories with friends in town and down the Cape. She was a regular at “Charlie’s Pub,” where neighbors Karen and Charlie Boneau brought out a special crystal glass that she preferred and the conversation flowed along with the cocktails. Dear friends Kathy and Wayne Sulham welcomed the Corfields to West Dennis every Fourth of July for cornhole tournaments, mudslides, watching the Boston Pops on television, and general good times with family and friends.
Above all, Ellen made sure that her people felt loved and cared for. She found joy in helping and in really seeing others–like showing up to babysit so a much-needed date night could happen, or finding that perfect gift for the family gift exchange–and Ellen shared that spirit with her family and friends. She will be sorely missed, deeply loved, and always honored.
Ellen is preceded in death by her father, John Beatty; mother-in-law Violet Clarke; and brother-in-law, Bruce Corfield. She is survived and remembered in love by her adoring husband Richard Corfield, her mother Ellen (Nellie) Beatty; brothers John (Norrine) and Jim (JoAnne) Beatty; sister-in-law Elaine Corfield; children Megan (Chris) Scott and Brian (Kayti) Corfield; and her grandchildren Thomas (6), Otis (5), Layla (3), and Emmett (4 months).
Family and friends will honor and remember Ellen’s life by gathering for visiting hours in the McCarthy, McKinney & Lawler Funeral Home, 11 Lincoln St. Framingham on Thursday, December 22nd from 3-7pm.
Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday morning in St. Anselm Church, 100 Landham Rd., Sudbury at 10 o’clock.
Interment will be private.
Those wishing to honor Ellen may do so through a donation in her memory to the ALS Association, www.als.org.
For online tributes or to share a memory with Ellen’s family, kindly visit www.mccarthyfh.com
[broadstreet zone=”66385″]
McCarthy McKinney Lawler Funeral Home 
Norton Funeral Home 
Chesmore Funeral Home