Ellen Kuniholm passed away peacefully Sunday August 26 after a remarkable 91 year life. She raised three children and leaves her remaining family and whoever remembers her with an abundance of warm memories. She was a remarkable woman.
Mom was born, educated and died in Worcester, Mass but through reading and personal development and autodidactic striving, she became a worldly and broadly informed woman. She was a mother, daughter, wife, mother-in-law and grandmother par excellence and was in addition a den mother, cheerleading coach, church school teacher, ladies club president, portfolio manager, and an A student at Quinsigamond Community College while in her 60's, always the oldest student in class. Her A's even included one in Physics, which she took to prove to herself and a surprised husband that she was not your stereotypical math- impaired female. Later still, she bought a small sailboat (used of course) with her social security money, had Dad paint its name "The Unsinkable Ellen E" on the bow and sailed it on Queen Lake. The name captures her spirit-Unsinkable she was! She was a liberated woman before the term was invented because she had a soaring spirit, self confidence her mother had instilled in her and a lust for life. Later still, when Dad grew tired of traveling, she went to Italy and then Israel by herself even though by then she walked with difficulty. So she brought a cane with a fold-down seat! She wanted to see the Sistine Chapel and the place where Jesus was born. Like Mumu, Christian faith was at her core.
Mom was married at age 20 to Dad at the Swedish Lutheran Church on Belmont Hill, just below Hooper St where she had lived since birth. She married "Engineer Kuniholm" as Mumu used to introduce Dad to her Finnish friends. Mumu was sooo pleased that her daughter was marrying an educated man, education being something she had been denied. Mom graduated from Belmont Prep, North High School and Becker Secretarial School, now Becker College, and then worked as a secretary at Heald Machine Co, saving 100% of her salary so that they could pay off their first house on Eastern Ave, near Hooper St. They burned the mortgage within a few years and lived debt free for the rest of their 71 year marriage.
Mom's father had died a year before she married. Soon, Mumu and Charlie were living at Eastern Ave. Times were tough for Mumu, and Mom and Dad were there to help. Not the storybook way to start a marriage but they both agreed it was the right thing to do. As a daughter to Mumu, she was an All Star. Charlie calls Mom his second mother. Dad's friends teased him about being a quick worker as the newlywed went shopping with 6 year old Charlie.
As a wife, Mom was faithful and supportive to Dad. Any marital difficulties were always overcome by her optimism that "this too shall pass". She was always able to look past the rainclouds and see the rainbow. Mom stenciled "Blest be the tie that binds" on the wooden valance Dad made for her above the kitchen sink. Those words were stenciled on Mom's heart as well, her legacy from Mumu.
As my mother, she has left me a debt I can't repay. Her legacy to me is a love I'll never forget, a confidence I couldn't have without her, and a treasure chest of sweet memories.
Mom had an optimistic spirit and a warmth that touched others.
Her memory lives on!
Jonathan Kuniholm
September, 2012