Ellen Gottlieb Lerman

Ellen Gottlieb Lerman of Worcester, MA passed away peacefully at age 79 on February 11, 2026 at the home of her son Jeffrey (the one without a doctorate) and his wife Heather (Waterman – who has a doctorate) and their two children Emerson and Sydney. She is also survived by her son David (doctorate) and his wife Erin Hughey-Commers (doctorate) and son Parker. Additionally, she will be missed greatly by her sister Amy Gottlieb, her husband Frank Marschiello, their daughter Liana, husband Dan, and their child Leia. Her husband Elliott preceded her in death in 2023.

Ellen grew up in New York, NY, the daughter of Sylvia and Leonard Gottlieb. She graduated from Tufts University (‘67) with a degree in Occupational Therapy. She met Elliott there and they stayed involved with the University for the rest of their lives. They lived, worked, and raised their children in Framingham, MA and were involved members of Temple Beth Am. Professionally, Ellen worked as an OT with several nursing homes and then later, with the National Brain Injury Foundation.

Later, they retired to Phoenix, AZ where she reveled in the dry heat and sun, spending countless happy hours by the pool with a book and a glass of wine. They loved being members of Congregation Kehillah and made many good friends there. Ellen loved to talk about all things related to Judaism and was proud of getting bat mitzvahed in her 40’s. She got involved in collecting Native American pottery and loved getting to know the artists and their stories. She was also a skilled seamstress and for many years had a small business making chuppot, creating Torah covers and wall hangings.

In her last years, Ellen lived at the Willows in Worcester, making new friends and enjoying being closer to her son Jeff and wife, Heather, who provided care to her in the last month of her life spent at their home.

Ellen will be missed for her acerbic wit, and her frequent assertion that all her supervisors were idiots. She taught us that you can (and should) fight City Hall.

We would like to thank Jewish Health Care of Worcester and Palliative Personal Care of Worcester for their loving care.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to either Congregation Kehillah at https://congregationkehillah.org/product/donation/ or to the Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework - check donations can be mailed to Aaron Sanofsky, 350 Williams Street, Longmeadow, MA 01106 - or made online at www.pomegranateguild.org