North Andover -- Elizabeth M. Pendak, 56, passed away gracefully and surrounded by loved ones on Thursday, May 3, following a courageous battle with lymphoma.
Beth was born on October 24, 1956, the fourth daughter of Elizabeth May and Walter Pendak. Raised in North Andover, Beth spent her childhood playing outside with friends and developed a keen sense of adventure.
After graduating from North Andover High School in 1974, she spent a year backpacking through Europe before attending Salem State College and Merrimack College, where she earned her bachelor’s degree.
A love of reading led Beth to become a career librarian. In various capacities, she worked at public libraries in Methuen, North Andover and Lawrence before moving to Rowley in 1993 and later becoming a reference librarian at Newburyport Public Library.
A loving mother of two sons, Jared and Keith, Beth never relinquished her adventurous spirit. She vacationed every summer in cottages at Hampton Beach, N.H. In 1999, Beth moved the family to Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula to serve as a literacy advocate with Americorps. She returned to Rowley a year later and met her future husband, Marby Penton, at Hampton Beach in 2001.
In 2003, the family went on a month-long road trip across the USA, visiting various points on the eastern seaboard, the Gulf Coast, the Southwest and the Rocky Mountains.
A talented gardener, Elizabeth maintained a bountiful plot in Georgetown and was well known for making the best homemade tomato sauce.
Beth is predeceased by her brother, Tommy, and parents, Walter and Betty Pendak.
Along with her two sons, Beth is survived by sisters and brothers-in-law Gerrie and Ray Berube and Mary and Richard Fisher of North Andover and Nancy and David Toto of Salem, N.H. She is also survived by her brother, Joe, of Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada and many nieces and nephews.
Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to call on Tuesday, May 7th, 2013 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the John Breen Memorial Funeral Home, Inc., 35 Merrimack Street, No. Andover, MA. For online condolences and other information please visit us at www.breenfuneralhome.com.
Her funeral mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, May 8th, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. in Saint Michaels Church in No. Andover, MA. Please meet directly at the church for the day of the funeral. Burial will be private at the request of the family.
In lieu of Flowers, donations in Elizabeth’s memory may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, Tennessee.