Ellen M. (Griffin) Richwine

Ellen Richwine, 72, a social worker and social services director at nursing homes in Boston’s south suburbs for three decades, died July 2 of heart failure after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease and normal-pressure hydrocephalus.

Ellen was the wife of David Richwine and the late Robert Sullivan, and had lived in Stoughton for the past 37 years. Born in Cambridge, she was raised in Dorchester and Quincy. She was a 1970 graduate of Fontbonne Academy in Milton and in 1975 earned her bachelor's degree in journalism from Northeastern University.

Ellen soon realized as a rookie reporter that instead of writing news stories about people touched by tragedy, her calling was to help those very same people. So one of her first part-time jobs as a young mom was as overnight-shift liaison to families arriving in the emergency room at Carney Hospital in Dorchester, helping them deal with what awaited them there.

Medical staff saw her gift for empathy and advised her to get training as a certified social worker. She did, and that led her to help hundreds, perhaps thousands, of nursing home clients and their families over the years as they dealt with the effects of dementia.

Her jobs included those at Blue Hills Alzheimer’s Center, the Copley, and the Goddard Sub-Acute Care Center, all in Stoughton; the Guardian Center in Brockton; Randolph Crossing Nursing Center; Care Matrix Nursing Center in Dedham; and Newton Health Care, across from Newton-Wellesley Hospital. She also worked several years for the Planned Lifetime Assistance Network (PLAN) of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, a nonprofit that serves disabled clients and their families who have set up special needs trusts for their care.

Beyond her career, which at times included a fulltime job and two per diem jobs while she was a single mom raising three children, her happy place was caring for that family and spending time with her friends. She did all this with a wry, dry sense of humor she kept to her last days (imagine a combination of Gracie Allen and Aubrey Plaza). Ellen was also a proud longtime member and sponsor to other members of Alcoholics Anonymous, receiving her 19-year anniversary chip last fall.

Once their children were grown, she and David enjoyed traveling to faraway places. Some favorites included seeing her first field of sunflowers in Kansas; sunsets in Big Sur; the cliffs of Monhegan Island in Maine; the majesty and quietude of Zion National Park; quiet cafes in Paris and Monet's home in Giverny; villages with breathtaking views in the Swiss Alps; Ireland’s impossibly green Dingle Peninsula, home of her ancestors; the canals of Venice; and closer to home, breakfasts on Cape Cod and afternoons under an umbrella at West Dennis Beach. She was an avid reader, enjoyed just about every movie she saw at Dedham Community Theater, and generously tolerated her husband’s love of poker, NFL football, and golf. Most importantly, she treasured her time with family and friends, who will always love her.

In addition to David, she leaves her children, Kathryn Sullivan of Edgartown; Brian Sullivan and his wife, Hitaishi, of Stoughton; and Jennifer Bickford and her husband, Christopher, of North Attleborough. She was the grandmother of Hudson Bickford and Tristan Sullivan. Ellen was also the sister of William Griffin and his wife, Lorraine, of Quincy, and the stepmother of David’s children, Ann-Marie Litcof of the North End; Rebecca Richwine and her spouse, Letta Neely, of Dorchester; Samuel Richwine of Walpole; Ben Richwine and his fiancee, Emily Gill, of Abington; and the late Joshua Richwine of Norwood.

All are welcome to a celebration of Ellen's life, which will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, August 2 in Christ the Rock Church, 76 Pierce Street, Stoughton.

Donations in Ellen’s name may be made to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and/or its Jimmy Fund, 10 Brookline Place West, 5th Floor, Brookline, MA 02445-7226.