Ellen M. (Christo) DeNatale, 98, formerly of Winchester and Newton, died on August 1, 2024, surrounded by family. Born at home, in Boston, she was the daughter of Christina and Andrew Christo, immigrants from Treska, Albania. She grew up on Mission Hill, with her parents and four siblings, on Hillside Street, above her father’s corner store where she worked during her childhood and college years. She attended Girls Latin School beginning in the 7th grade, graduating in 1943. For the remainder of her life, she never forgot her many GLS friends and teachers, especially her Latin teacher Miss Glennon.
She earned a degree from Emmanuel College, in Boston, majoring in Chemistry and minoring in Mathematics. From 1947 to 1952, she worked as a researcher in Dr Nathan Talbot’s pediatric endocrinology lab at the Massachusetts General Hospital and in a lab in Montreal, Canada.
In 1951, she married Joseph S. DeNatale whom she admired and adored. He was her rock throughout their nearly 70-year marriage. Their partnership was based on mutual love and support, shared beliefs, goals, and sense of humor, joy in music and travel, and, above all their love for and devotion to their seven children.
Ellen was, at her core, a caregiver, with her home as the center, where she devoted herself to raising her children. For nearly 60 years she hosted large gatherings at the holidays for extended family. Beyond her family, visitors facing difficulties from many parts of the world found a safe harbor in her home, often for months and even years at a time - a homesick college student from abroad, a family of political refugees, and a young woman undergoing medical treatment unavailable in her own country. As first her aunt, her cousin, and sister aged, she took them to medical appointments, brought them meals, and offered a sympathetic ear.
Ellen was relentlessly curious. An early convert to National Public Radio, she read the daily newspaper, an eclectic selection of magazines, and books on history, religion, and philosophy. There was almost no topic she didn’t find interesting, and she was full of questions for everyone she met.
She was also a deck tennis intra-muralist at Girls Latin, a Red Sox fanatic in the 1930’s and 40’s, a devotee of the original Filene’s basement in Boston, and a lifelong public transportation enthusiast.
But her life was really all about her family – her husband, her children and her grandchildren. They were the focus of her every day; her happiest times were when the family was all together, usually at her home for weekly dinners or holiday weekends. She found great joy in opera and orchestral music, but what gave her greatest joy was listening to her children sing together and harmonize; when her grandchildren were later added to the mix, she was transported. In the latter years of her life, when she moved to Fox Hill, in Westwood, MA, and later to Maplewood, in Weston, MA, she told everyone who asked, and even those who did not, that she had 19 grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her adoring husband Joe, whom she missed every day, her son Joey, and her siblings George Christo, Mary Gershman, Christie (“Bill”) Christo and Dorothy Delery, and their spouses. She is survived by her children Peter DeNatale (Susan) of Wellesley, MA; Douglas DeNatale (Valerie) of Groton, MA; Nancy Collins (Andrew) of Greenwich, CT; Lisa DeNatale (Steve Boutcher) of Burlington, VT, Joan DeNatale Green (Rick Green) of West Hartford, CT; and Mary Ellen DeNatale (Gerry Sullivan) of Arlington, MA; 19 grandchildren; 8 great-grandchildren, her sister-in-law Virginia De Natale and many nieces and nephews.
Relatives and friends are kindly invited to gather for Visiting Hours at the Costello Funeral Home, 177 Washington St., Winchester, on Monday, August 19 from 9:00-10:30 am followed by a Funeral Mass at 11am in St. Mary’s Church, 155 Washington St., Winchester. Burial will follow in Wildwood Cemetery, Winchester.
In lieu of flowers please consider a donation in Ellen’s name to the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress, whose mission is to ensure that individuals with Down Syndrome living in Massachusetts are valued, included and given the opportunities to pursue fulfilling lives. MDSC, 20 Burlington Mall Road #261, Burlington, MA 01803. https://MSDC.ORG.