WILMINGTON, NC: Tracy A. Belcher Ash, age 55, a loving mother, sister and friend, died on Thursday evening, February 2, 2017, surrounded by her loving family at the Stanley R. Tippett Hospice Home in Needham, MA. She had been the devoted wife of the late Kenneth R. Ash.
Born in Newton, MA, Tracy was a daughter of the late John E. and Joan (Honold) Belcher. Raised and educated in Sherborn, MA, Tracy was a 1980 graduate of Dover Sherborn High School and continued her education at New England College.
Tracy had lived in California and Florida prior to making North Carolina her home when she settled in Bat Cave to raise her family. She was fortunately happy with and well matched to her career working in public service. For many years she oversaw RSVP - Retired Seniors’ Volunteer Program, working closely with her volunteers and successfully writing grants to keep the program both funded and effective. In 2012 she moved to Wilmington, NC, where she worked in the same capacity, but this time as a supervisor for New Hanover County’s Senior Programs.
Tracy loved life and all it held, and her sense of fun was contagious. She hiked, tended her gardens, spent days at the beach and found swimming in the ocean among her richest experiences. She was very focused on her family, and was happy just to relax in their company and that of close friends.
She is survived by her children, Justin T. Chillington, Jenna A. Chillington, and Serenity Ash and her husband Eric Grass, all of Wilmington; her brother, John E. Belcher, Jr., and his wife Virginia of Holden, MA; her sister, Laure B. Joy and her husband James of Framingham, MA; and many Aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Her Memorial Service will be held in the John Everett & Sons Funeral Home, 4 Park Street at Natick Common, Natick, MA, on Monday, February 6th at 2:00PM. The Reverend John F. Hudson, Pastor of Pilgrim Church, UCC, of Sherborn, will officiate. Relative and friends may gather to visit with Tracy’s family beginning at noontime.
Burial at Pine Hill Cemetery, Sherborn will be private at a later date. In lieu of flowers, gifts in Tracy’s memory may be made to the Stanley R. Tippett Hospice Home, 920 South Street, Needham, MA 02492, or the Dana Farber Cancer Research Institute, 10 Brookline Place West, 6th floor, Brookline, MA 02245.