Ellen L. Altschuler, 100

DALTON, Mass. — Ellen Lillian Altschuler, 100, passed away peacefully at Craneville Place of Dalton, Mass., on June 16, 2017.

She was born on June 6, 1917, in Hartford, Conn., to Ivar and Lily Kloo and graduated from Wethersfield High School in 1935. She enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943 and was stationed in Georgia, England, France, and Germany for the duration of WWII.  She met her husband, Samuel Altschuler, while in the Army and they married on August 23, 1947 and made their home in Ravena, N.Y.  She moved to East Hartford, Conn., in 1989 and then to Williamstown, Mass., in 1996 and Pittsfield, Mass., in 2014.  At various times Ellen worked as a typist, first for Traveler's Insurance Company in Hartford and later at Aetna Insurance in Hartford and the NYS Education Department in Albany, N.Y., from which she retired in 1982.  

She had a lifelong love of traveling, beginning with a trip to Sweden in 1935. She especially liked ocean cruising and enjoyed a 105-day round-the-world cruise in 2002. Her last foreign travel was a Mediterranean cruise in 2008.  She was proud of her Swedish heritage, spoke Swedish fluently and visited Sweden, often accompanied by her siblings or children, on at least a dozen occasions.  She was an avid reader and instilled a love of books and education in her children. She gave generously to many different charities, and over the years had memberships in many local cultural institutions. Her favorite painting at The Clark was Renoir's "Onions."

She was predeceased by her husband of 37 years Samuel Altschuler; her brothers Lennart, Ivar, and Norman Kloo; and her son-in-law Lippe Ber Perlman.  

She is survived by her sister Elsie and brother-in-law Bud Wetmore of East Hartford, Conn.; her five children, Susan Perlman of Valley Village, Calif., Marsha Altschuler of Williamstown, Carole Brown and her husband Ed of Ravena, N.Y., Michael Altschuler and his wife Dawn of Glenmont, N.Y., and Jean McWilliams and her partner John Cebula of Averill Park, N.Y.; 11 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Funeral notice: A graveside service was held on Friday, June 23, 2017, at 1 p.m. at Beth Emeth Cemetery in Loudonville, N.Y. Contributions may be made in her memory to Elder Services of the Berkshires.