Maryellen R (Hughes) Shaw

Maryellen Hughes O’Donnell Shaw

Training School Retiree

Southbury, CT—

Maryellen Shaw, 75, of Southbury, CT died peacefully Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury after a long illness.  Maryellen was born in Brooklyn, NY on April 5, 1942, daughter of the late Thomas Jefferson Hughes and Lillian Barnes Hughes of Easton, CT.  She was predeceased by her loving husband of 28 years, Homer C. Shaw and by her first husband, James R. O’Donnell.

She spent her teenage years in Easton, CT and attended Notre Dame High School in Bridgeport.  Maryellen dedicated her life to the service of others, first working at The New York Foundling caring for infants.  She married James R. O’Donnell in 1963 and settled in Easton, CT, and later moved to Naugatuck where she raised her four children.  She was actively involved in the community, especially at the St. Francis School and Church. Later she was employed by the State of Connecticut at Southbury Training School rising to the position of Supervisor, and finally cared for two developmentally challenged women in her residence for many years.

Upon retirement, Maryellen and her husband, Homer, traveled the country for two years visiting all of the lower 48 states.  Subsequently, she and Homer moved to Williamstown, MA and lived there until his passing in 2011.  Maryellen spent her last years at Heritage Village in Southbury, CT.  She was an avid gardener and cross-stitcher. Spurned by her beloved Brooklyn Dodgers, she became a devoted fan of the Boston Red Sox. She also enjoyed taking long drives in the little convertible that Homer bought for her, with her Schnoodle, Benny.  Maryellen had a kind and nurturing soul, and will be sorely missed by all those whose lives she touched. 

She is survived by her children, James R. O’Donnell Jr. and his wife Heather of Naugatuck, Colleen Doyle of Blandford, MA, William P. O’Donnell and his wife Angela of Northfield, and Kathleen Lee and her husband James; grandchildren, Elizabeth, Connor, Aline, Lillian, Liam and Logan. She is survived by two siblings, Sharon Hughes of Lenox, MA and Thomas Hughes and his wife Jill of Milford. She is predeceased by her brother James Hughes. 

Services will be held at Pine Hill Cemetery in Southbury, CT at 11am on Saturday, November 4th.  The Woodbury Funeral Home of Munson-Lovetere, 2 School St., is in charge of arrangements.  

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