Ellen F. Furtado

Ellen F. (Allen) Furtado, age 79, of Fairhaven and formerly of Swansea, passed away Tuesday, November 19, 2019 at CareOne, New Bedford, surrounded by her family. She was the loving wife of Gerald “Gerry” A. Furtado, with whom she shared 57 years of marriage.

Born in Providence, a daughter of the late Edward and Josephine (Hall) Allen, she was a long-time resident of Swansea.

A graduate of Joseph Case High School, Class of 1958, she later trained as a lab assistant in Boston. She was a devoted Catholic who served as a Eucharistic Minister for St. Dominic’s Church in Swansea. Ellen loved the town of Swansea, a twenty five year member of Swansea School Committee who also served as President of the Massachusetts School Committee Association and was a long-time member of Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association for many years. One of Ellen’s proudest accomplishments was voting to allow the late Mark Hoyle to stay in school after he contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion, a decision that made national headlines and resulted many young HIV positive children the ability to attend schools throughout the country. She was named Swansea Citizen of the year and received the John S. Brayton Community Service Award from the greater Fall River Area Chamber of Commerce. She was a member of the Board of Directors on the Swansea Council of Aging, served for 4 years on the Governor’s Advisory Committee, Co-founded the Joseph Case High School “The After Prom Party”, the first such event in the area. She was a founding member and past President of the Joseph Case High School Parent/Teacher Organization and past President of the Joseph Case High School Alumni Association. She was also actively involved with the Friends of the Cardinals and Joseph Case High School Athletic Hall of Fame committee along with other groups. One of Ellen’s greatest joys was watching her kids and grandkids play sports, she also adored her nieces and nephews and enjoyed going RV’ing with her husband and eight children. Ellen loved having her home filled with friends and family and was known to be a second mother to many.

In addition to her husband survivors include: eight children, James Furtado and his wife Cindi of Swansea, Judy Fleury and her husband Greg of Narragansett, RI, Jeffrey Furtado and his girlfriend Kim Franks of Fairhaven, Jane Edmonds and her husband Joe of Narragansett, RI, Jonathan Furtado and his girlfriend Darlene Patenaude of Swansea, Jennifer Tomaszewicz and her husband Mark of Marietta, GA, Jay Furtado and his girlfriend Maria Chaves of Fall River and Joann Fitzgerald and her husband Robert of Swansea; sixteen grandchildren, Joel, Lauren, Gregory, Ian, Noah, Kyle, Clayton, Chloe, Taylor, Kaylie, Alyssa, Ella, Cody, Riley, Morgan and Luke; three great grandchildren, Devin, Ariana and Kallie; one sister, Judith Abbruzzi of Bristol, RI; brother-in-law, William Furtado of Swansea and several nieces and nephews.

She was the mother of the late Joseph Furtado and sister-in-law of the late Yvette Furtado.

Her funeral will be held Monday, November 25, 2019 at 9:00 AM from Waring-Sullivan Home at Birchcrest, 189 Gardner’s Neck Rd., Swansea, followed by her funeral mass at 10:00 AM in St. Dominic’s Church, 1277 GAR Hwy., Swansea. Visitation will be held Sunday from 12:00 to 3:00 PM. Burial is private.

In lieu of flowers, Memorial contributions in her honor may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or P.O. Box 96011, Washington, D.C. 20090.