Mary Ellen Massmann

Dec. 16, 1938 - Jan. 29, 2024

Mary Ellen was born in Lowville, NY and grew up with her younger sister, Theresa, and parents, Thomas and Delores McCarthy in Springfield, MA. Mary Ellen attended Cathedral HighSchool and was very active in various student activities. She then attended Our Lady of the Elms College where she graduated with a degree in Teaching and History. Growing up she had an intense desire to see the world so after teaching in Springfield schools for two years she applied and was accepted as a teacher for the Dept of Defense and assigned to a base school in Ankara, Turkey. Her next assignment was to Moron Air Base in Seville, Spain where she met her future husband, Tom and when she passed away, they had just celebrated their 59th Anniversary. She had a number of career paths including elementary school teacher, Early Childhood Development teacher. She taught at the Community College level and was a Family Therapist. She received a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Development from the University of Maryland and took masters degree level courses in Family Therapy from Cal State Northridge. Mary Ellen and Tom had one son, Michael, who is a lawyer in Los Angeles. In 2001 she and Tom embarked on 20 plus years of world travel which involved visiting over 105 countries. In 2020 Mary Ellen was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. Through her fighting spirit and love of life she enjoyed over three years with the disease before passing away on 29 Jan 2024. She was an amazing positive person who loved and blessed all those she knew. She was an avid reader and her search for knowledge was an integral part of her DNA. She will be sorely missed by her husband, son, surviving family and all those who knew and loved her. Her life was an example for all of a Life Well Lived.