Ellen Jane (Pattison) Krumpholz

Ellen Jane Krumpholz, 65, passed away at Apple Valley Center in Ayer on January 8, 2018, after a 10-month long struggle with cancer.

Born in Sacramento, CA, into a military family (U.S. Air Force), Ellen was the youngest of three children and spent her early years living primarily in Nebraska, Puerto Rico, and Bangor, ME, before arriving in Holyoke, MA, in the late 1960s. Ellen graduated from Holyoke Catholic High School in 1970 and attended Pierce Secretarial School in Boston in 1970-1971. From 1971 to 1976, she held a variety of junior medical secretarial and medical transcription positions in Boston (at BCH, BU) and Holyoke hospitals. In 1974, she married Gary Krumpholz, and they lived in Holyoke, eventually moving to Granby, MA. In 1976, Ellen and Gary moved to Worcester, MA, and Ellen worked for International Dictating Service in Worcester as a medical transcriber from 1976 to 1981, while Gary earned a doctorate in Electrical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. From 1981 to 1988, Ellen worked at UMass Medical Center in Worcester, first as a laboratory administrator in the Departments of Biochemistry and Medicine and then as the Administrator of the Diabetes-Endocrinology Research Center. From 1988 to 1990, Ellen worked for a temporary agency at St. Johnʼs Hospital (later becoming Saints Memorial Medical Center), in Lowell, MA, in the Pathology Department. From 1990 to 1993, Ellen was Executive Secretary at BioHybrid Technologies in Shrewsbury, MA. In 1993, Ellen went back to Saints Memorial Medical Center, first as a per-diem employee and then as a regular employee in the Medical Transcription and Pathology Departments, where she continued working until she retired in 2005.

Ellen loved her family and friends. She became an excellent cook, preparing her husbandʼs favorite dishes expertly. Ellen enjoyed having a good meal with Gary, accompanied by an excellent bottle from their wine cellar. Ellen had a passionate love of birds. She was notorious at the local hardware store for her purchases of black oil sunflower seeds to feed to the wild birds (20 lb. every week). In addition, Ellen had a total of15 parakeets over 25 years; the most she had at any one time was eight. During the day, she let her birds out of their cages to be free to fly around the house.

Ellen was predeceased by her parents, John D. Pattison and Eileen M. Pattison (Consedine), and her sister Mary Louise Pattison of Bangor. She is survived by her husband Gary R. Krumpholz of Groton, MA, and by a sister, Ann P. Bouchard and husband Dennis of West Hills, CA. Ellen is also survived by a niece, Lisa Peterson and husband Aaron, of Sunland, CA, and a nephew, Brian Bouchard and wife Toni of Simi Valley, CA. She also leaves three great-nieces and three great-nephews.

The family thanks the staff of doctors, nurses and care givers at Lowell General Hospital, both the main campus and the Saints campus, for their care and compassion. Special thanks go to the staff of the Apple Valley Center, who worked so hard to comfort Ellen in her final days and ease her passing.

Services will be private.

Donations in Ellenʼs memory may be made to:
World Wildlife Fund
1250 Twenty-Fourth St., N.W.
P.O. Box 97180
Washington, DC 20090-7180
www.worldwildlife.org
or
American Cancer Society
30 Speen St.
Framingham, MA 01701
www.cancer.org