Obituary of Eleanora Halfman

Eleanora (Ellie) L. Halfman died on July 30, 2015 at the age of 90. The daughter of Victor and Ethel Otto, she was born on December 18, 1924 in Framingham, MA and grew up on a small farm in Westborough, MA with her brother Victor (Bacon). Ellie met her husband, Robert (Bob) L. Halfman, at University Lutheran Church in Cambridge, and they married in 1948, initially settling in Billerica. They later moved to Lexington and Ellie worked as a homemaker, raising four children, Peter, Peg, Sue, and John. Bob was an aeronautics professor and dean at MIT, and the family lived in India for several years in the 1960’s while he helped establish a branch of the Indian Institute of Technology. During these years in Kanpur, India, Ellie served the poor, volunteering at a hospital for the indigent, doing everything from painting walls, making pillowcases, and assisting surgeons, to distributing milk and vitamins. Back home in Massachusetts, Ellie, a graduate of Radcliffe, went back to school and got a nursing degree, and worked at several area hospitals. She had a lifelong passion for gardening, and participated in many flower shows and served as President of the Lexington Field and Garden Club. For many years, until her mid-80’s, she volunteered at homeless shelters. She became a favorite of the homeless because of the cookies, cupcakes, and pies she would faithfully bake for them every Thursday. She and Bob delighted in yearly family reunions at the family’s summer home in Meredith, NH, surrounded by their children and grandchildren. Ellie was preceded in death by her husband, Bob, and her daughter, Peg. She is survived by her children, Peter, Sue (Kevin), and John (Barb), and her grandchildren, Sam (Audrey), Camille, Marie, Kristen, and Kathy. Ellie’s wish was to be cremated and to schedule a remembrance to scatter her ashes at their summer home in New Hampshire. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the University Lutheran Church, 66 Winthrop St., Cambridge, MA. Arrangements are being made by Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, Burlington. For the online guestbook, see www.sullivanfuneralhome.net.