Susan Woodbury Ellis

I said goodbye to my girl in the early morning hours of Monday, October 7, 2025, in the family room of our home on Main Street, Centerville; I was with her to feel her last breath and was quickly joined by my children who were maintaining vigil with me. It seemed like only yesterday that I had met, fallen in love with Susan, a beautiful, blue-eyed blonde from Hyannis; The year was 1968 and we were in a crowded noisy pub in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and now she is gone.

Susan was born June 16,1947 in Southbridge, Ma., her parents were John and Janet Woodbury. She, with her sister Ann and brother Mark, moved frequently: Fort Lauderdale where she was educated at Pine Crest Preparatory School, Barnstable High School, Class of 1965, and Mount Ida College in Newton, Ma. She was employed by The Barnstable School System initially as a Health Aid and later as a Special Needs Assistant, retiring in March 2006.

Janet divorced and married Dr. Arthur Canning, a prominent Hyannis optometrist, and the Woodbury/Canning families merged in a rambling three story colonial at 14 Potter Avenue. I had followed her from Fort Lauderdale and it was here that I met her met her extended family: The Canning step brothers/sisters: Bob, James, John, Mary, Christina and Judy.

I was welcomed into the family and we were married in the First Baptist Church of Hyannis on September 13, 1969. Children followed at three-year intervals: Todd John (Huntington Beach, Ca.), partner: Nadine Almanza, dog: Tucker; Sarah Faythe Savage, (Melrose, Ma.) husband: Brandon. children: Aislin Faythe, Owen Ellis (twins) and Donovan John, dog: Bosun and Kristen Woodbury Eskey. (Jamestown, R. I.) husband: Tim, dog: Bernie. “Millie” was loved and adored by her three grandchildren.

We had a full life shared with our own three beautiful children, each very different but united by love and powerful family ties. We spent many warm Summers in our Brewster waterfront cottage, aptly named “Channel View” over a period of thirty years. We cruised The Danube, Seine, and Rhine, visited Paris, Normandy, Amsterdam and Prague and enjoyed extended Winter vacations in Ft. Pierce and Lighthouse Point, Florida.

In 1986 we purchased an antique home at 393 Main Street in Historic Centerville Village and Susan came alive, interior decoration was always her true love and every room of our home has been renovated and updated with her special touch evident in every detail.

Flowers and flower arranging were another interest, she was a member of The Osterville Garden Club, on The American Cancer Society Soiree on The Bay committee and an avid Mah Joong player.

We travelled, took road trips and explored The Cape but our favorite place was the deck on the rear of our home. Many memorable family events and celebrations took place here but most quiet, warm evenings were spent here. The “Evening News” was replaced by “Enya” and we would enjoy a glass of wine, casual dinner and quiet conversation. Our back yard is dominated by a massive hemlock and the yard is populated by rabbits, squirrels, hosta muching deer with multiple families of cardinals.

In the end Breast Cancer claimed her but she fought until the last breath; she never complained thinking only of others and not herself. The Ellis family wishes to extend their love and thanks to the many angels who represent the VNA (Laurie and Mike) and VNA Hospice (Diane); they are shining lights and bearers of hope in this grim process.

With Winter looming we will host a “Celebration of Susan’s Life” this Summer and, you might guess, our family would ask if you wish to send a donation or remembrance in her name please do so as follows:

The National Audubon Society

attn: Donations

225 Varick Street - 7th floor

New York, NY, 10617

https:/act.audubon.org/a/memorial-gift

And yes, she will be that flaming red cardinal perched in our giant hemlock, keeping an eye on her home, our family, and all our friends and neighbors!

Written with a heart full of love and memories by her husband: John Ellis - 10/27/2025