Ellwood F. DeCoster

07/16/2006

Ellwood F. DeCoster, 94, of Devonshire Estates died yesterday at Kimball Farms Nursing Care Center, where he had resided for the past month. Born on the family farm in Buckfield, Maine, on Sept. 5, 1911, son of Stanley E. and Lucy Foss DeCoster, he graduated from Buckfield High School. He was an outstanding baseball player in his youth. He moved to Pittsfield, where he lived for nearly three decades. Mr. DeCoster was employed by International Harvester Motor Truck Division for 21 years, traveling to coastal regions throughout New England, and also worked for several eastern Massachusetts automotive dealerships. He joined the Masons in 1934 and was a 54-year-member of Pilgrim Lodge of Masons AF & AM in Harwich, where he lived for four years during the 1950s. He enjoyed pheasant hunting, fishing, vegetable gardening and working with wood. He made cabinets, bookshelves and picture frames. He also was mechanically inclined and could fix most things. His first wife, the former Elizabeth Hollis, died in 1976. They had been married 41 years. He and his wife, the former Catherine Creran, were married 29 years. Besides his wife, he leaves a daughter, Virginia Lougee of Windsor, Conn.; a son, Stanley T. DeCoster of Salem, Conn.; two stepdaughters, Kathleen DeCoster, who is also his daughter-in-law, of Salem and Mary Jane Alibozek of Pittsfield; four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. FUNERAL NOTICE -- The funeral for Mr. Ellwood F. DeCoster, who died peacefully in his sleep on June 16, 2006, will be conducted Wednesday at 11 at WELLINGTON FUNERAL HOME by the Rev. Charles Young. Burial will be in Buckfield (Maine) Village Cemetery.Visitation will be Wednesday from 10 until the service at 11. Donations in his memory may be made to HospiceCare in the Berkshires in care of the funeral home, 220 East St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. He leaves two sons-in-law, Robert Lougee of Windsor, Conn., and Stanley DeCoster of Salem, Conn.; four grandchildren, Martha Pinckney of Windsor, Conn., Rebecca Rahilly of Middletown, Conn., Keri DeCoster of Willimantic, Conn., and Paul DeCoster of Montville, Conn., and five great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by two sisters, Nettie and Naomi. Throughout his life, he embraced traditional values such as honesty, devotion to family and hard work. He typically put in 50- and 60-hour workweeks, and employers valued his service. Mr. DeCoster had a quick mind and dry wit, and would come out with memorable lines on a daily basis. Once, while gazing at his grave marker in Buckfield, he remarked: "I thought I'd look down at it one more time before I'm looking up at it."

Obituaries

Celebrating Lives & Legacies

Ellwood F. DeCoster

Memorials