Judge Elbert Tuttle, age 94, passed away on February 19, 2026, at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital in Westborough, Massachusetts. A lifelong resident of Framingham, he lived a life defined by service—to his country as a United States Army officer, to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a Superior Court Judge, District Court Judge, and State Representative, and to the Town of Framingham as a Selectman. He was widely respected for his integrity, sound judgment, and steadfast commitment to fairness and equal justice under law.
Elbert was the son of the late Joseph Walton Tuttle, a blind attorney and Massachusetts’ first blind State Representative, and Gladys Mildred (Wright) Tuttle. From his parents, he learned the values that guided his life: hard work, honesty, community service, and a deep belief in equality for all.
A graduate of Framingham High School, Elbert earned his undergraduate degree from Boston University in 1953 and his law degree from Boston University School of Law in 1957. He later received a Master of Laws in Taxation in 1976. After law school, he entered the U.S. Army and served at Fort Benning, Georgia, in the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate (JAG Corps), before being honorably discharged and returning to Framingham, where he and his family made their home in the Nobscot area.
Encouraged by his father to serve the public, Elbert became active in civic life. In 1973, Governor Francis W. Sargent appointed him as a Middlesex County District Court Judge. In 1982, Governor Michael Dukakis appointed him to the Massachusetts Superior Court—an appointment that reflected the respect he earned across party lines for his fairness, integrity, and judicial wisdom. His career in law and public service spanned more than fifty years, including private practice and later work in civil litigation, mediation, and arbitration. In retirement, he continued to serve as Of Counsel to the law firm of Fletcher Tilton in Framingham.
Elbert was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Arthur Ashley Williams Foundation and a member of the Massachusetts and South Middlesex Bar Associations, the Massachusetts Judges’ Conference, the American Judges Association, the Boston Athenaeum, the French Library in Boston, and the Framingham Historical Society.
In 1952, Elbert married his high school sweetheart, Marion Jeanette Dyan. They shared more than sixty-two years of marriage before her passing in 2014. He was also predeceased by his sister, Lucile Ferrucci (Tuttle), of Milford, Massachusetts. He is survived by his three daughters: Susan Tuttle Gregorio and her husband, Major Robert Gregorio (USAF, Retired), of Wells, Maine; Cynthia Tuttle Shaw and her husband, Mark Shaw, of Holliston, Massachusetts; and Leslie Tuttle and her husband, Juan Quiles, of Marlborough, Massachusetts; as well as eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Elbert Tuttle will be remembered for his lifelong commitment to justice, public service, and the rule of law, and for his devotion to his family. His legacy endures in the many lives he touched through his work and service.
Beyond his professional life, Elbert shared with Marion a love of history, culture, poetry, and travel, amassing a library of thousands of books and visiting many historic and cultural sites abroad. A lifelong fitness enthusiast, he exercised daily well into his nineties and was a familiar, warmly greeted presence at the Honey Dew Donuts in Nobscot Center. Known to many as “Tut,” “Judge,” or “Buster,” he treasured these daily connections and his quiet routines at home.
Visiting hours will be held on Monday, March 2, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at McCarthy, McKinney & Lawler Funeral Home, 11 Lincoln Street, Framingham, Massachusetts. A service will follow, with burial at Edgell Grove Cemetery, Framingham, Massachusetts.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Elbert’s name to: The Perkins School for the Blind, 175 North Beacon Street, Watertown, MA 02472, https://www.perkins.org/ , or to the Framingham Heart Study, https://www.framinghamheartstudy.org/
The family extends its sincere thanks to all who showed Elbert kindness over the years and for the compassion offered during this time of loss.
To share a memory with the Tuttle Family, kindly visit www.mccarthyfh.com
Norton, McKinney & Lawler Funeral Home