NORTH ADAMS, Mass. —  Debra Marie (Ellsworth) Benoit, 69, of North Adams passed away on Saturday, June 6, 2026 at North Adams Commons. She was born on December 15, 1956 in North Adams, MA a daughter of the late Rolland Richard Ellsworth & Claire Marie (Belanger) Ellsworth.

Debra was the widow of George William Benoit who died on August 17, 2001. She leaves her daughters, Melissa (Benoit) Houghtaling and her husband Thomas of Rowe, MA, Kelly Benoit of North Adams, MA, and April (Benoit) Schroeder and her husband Jay of Virginia Beach, VA; 8 grandchildren all of which she was proud of and loved very much. Steven Benoit, Kendra Crockwell and her fiancé Trevor Poirot, Nevin Houghtaling, Makayla Bushika, and Mariyana Wiggins-Rivers, William Graham, Logan Schroeder, and Mariah Schroeder. As well as 2 great grandchildren, Sage Rondeau and River Poirot, and nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her sisters, Joyce Ellsworth and Barbara Ellsworth.

Debra was known to be an extremely kind hearted person whose biggest passion was loving her family and showing compassion for everyone around her. She had a strong sense of humor and was considered a bright shining light to anyone who knew her. Debra spent her teenage years caring for her sister and mother while spending time with her life long best friend Cindy Booth. She would clean her apartment and loved being apart of cooking meals for the family, her favorite things to cook being spaghetti sauce, beans, stews and anything homemade. Throughout her life she would cook large Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas meals, and loved making home made Rice Krispie Treats to go with them. Debra's favorite animal was a Tiger, specifically White Tigers. She had countless pictures and decorations of Tigers and Cats. She was a big fan of WWE and would share this passion with her Grandson, Nevin. She loved playing games like Bingo and Uno. Her favorite subject in school was History and her biggest fear was heights. Debra loved animated characters, her favorites being Santa Clause, The Grinch, Minions, and Olaf The Snowman.

When asked what advice she would give to her teenage she wrote "Always be yourself. A true friend will always be there." When asked what she would do differently then she answered "Nothing, it made me who I am today." The person it made her into was an amazing, charismatic, supportive and honest lover. Debra lived a long life of spreading love and care to everyone around her and it has left a deep impact on anybody that was lucky enough to be touched by it. She will be missed dearly and remembered fondly by everyone that knew her.