Mrs. Ellen (Donovan) Samia, of Shrewsbury, died peacefully at home surrounded by her family on Monday, April 5, 2010 after a valiant 7 year battle with cancer. She was 39.
Ellen was born April 23, 1970 in Worcester, the youngest child of Dr. John H. and Eleanor A. (Collins) Donovan. She was raised in Shrewsbury and graduated from St. Mary’s Elementary School. She was a class of 1988 graduate from Notre Dame Academy in Worcester and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Providence College in 1992.
Ellen worked as an editor for Blackwell Scientific Co. in Cambridge before staying at home to raise her children; her greatest joy in life.
On May 28, 1994 in her parish church of St. Mary, she wed her best friend John R. Samia.
Her diagnosis in 2003 brought many challenges and obstacles which she faced with tremendous courage and spirit. With the blessings of God, medical staff and angels including Pam Calarese N.P., Dr. Pasi Janne, Dr. Jennifer Bellon and Dr. Michael Jaklitsch, all of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, she persevered and enjoyed almost 7 more years building memories with her family and friends. It brought immeasurable joy to her knowing that this time helped form a relationship with her children who will now always remember their mother’s beauty and humor. Ellen’s faith, instilled at a very young age in baptism, sustained and carried her through many trying times. At the end it was her faith that reassured her she was to return home to God and be reunited with many who have gone before her, most especially her daughter, Therese Rose, who died in 2003.
She was an active volunteer at Spring Street School and a CCD teacher at St. Mary’s. She loved her time spent on the Dennis beaches and in Harwich on Cape Cod. An avid sports enthusiast, she was a talented basketball player and a diehard Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics fan. Above all, Ellen’s life was centered on her family and her faith. She will be dearly missed.
Ellen leaves her much loved family, her husband, John R. Samia; her children, Thomas J. and Catherine E. Samia; her parents, Dr. John H. & Eleanor A. (Collins) Donovan Jr., all of Shrewsbury; her siblings, John H. Donovan III and his wife, Sharon Corazzini, of Westborough, Mary E. Kwiatkowski of Millbury, Daniel W. Donovan and his wife, Carol, of Wrentham, Anne D. Matthews and her husband, Robert, of Exeter, New Hampshire, Kathleen E. Cleary and her husband, John, of Shrewsbury and Patricia D. Bates and her husband, John, of Clarks Green, Pennsylvania and an aunt, Dorothea (Donovan) Donnelly of North Attleboro; her in-laws, Roger G. & Nancy E. (Ellms) Samia of Shrewsbury; sister-in-law Karen S. Benway and her husband, Charles, of Westford and brother-in-law Steven E. Samia and his wife, Deborah, of Dudley. She also leaves her cousins and 18 nieces and nephews who all adored her including Katie and Beth Kwiatkowski, Matthew Donovan, Ryan & Nikki Donovan, Emily, Kevin & Olivia Matthews, Meaghan and Jack Cleary, Tess Bates, Elizabeth, Matthew & Andrew Benway, Mariah & Alexis LeBlanc, Lauryn and Paige Samia and loving friends too numerous to count.
Ellen’s family would also like to thank Ann Marie, Robin, Jessica, Suzanne and Denise from the Jewish Home Hospice team for their tremendous guidance, compassion and support.
Family and friends will honor and remember Ellen's life by gathering for calling hours in Saint Mary’s Church, 640 Main Street, Shrewsbury Center on Thursday from 3 to 8 p.m. and again on Friday where her Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. Burial will follow in Mountain View Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 10 Binney Place West 6th Flr., Brookline, MA 02445-7226. Attn: Contribution Services.
For complete obituary, guest register and memorial tribute to Ellen please visit www.tributes.com/ellendonovansamia