May 16, 2024
Ellis, Evangeline
Evangeline “Lynn” Ellis, a longtime resident of Westwood, and formerly of San Francisco, and Milton, died Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center in Roslindale. She was 95. Lynn was born June 4, 1928 in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Arthur Clinton and Agnes (MacLeod) Ellis, immigrants from Nova Scotia. Lynn grew up in Milton and graduated from Milton High School before attending the Modern School of Design.
As a young woman in the late 1950’s, Lynn was hired as the Social Directress for the elegant Matson Lines cruise ships. Her primary route was the South Pacific. She was the only female officer on her ship and, because of her natural beauty, she was tapped to star as a traveling school teacher in a promotional film for Matson called Ports of Paradise. While cruising the South Pacific, Lynn dated Marlon Brando while he was filming Mutiny on the Bounty in Tahiti. Whenever she was asked what Brando was like, she would look wistfully away and say, “He was beautiful”.
Lynn left her home in San Francisco and her career with Matson to return to Boston so she could care for her ailing mother. Undeterred, Lynn embarked on several disparate career paths in the years that followed, including serving as an assistant to a Nobel Prize-winning scientist at MIT, an art curator for State Street Bank and as an interior decorator. Lynn rubbed elbows with the Boston elite including the Kennedys and Tip O’Neill, but was more impressed by grace and kindness than notoriety. She was an exceptional cook and a consummate host to visitors. Lynn was a member of the Daughters of the British Empire and, post-retirement, she was a volunteer at the Westwood Senior Center, often serving other seniors many years younger than herself. She enjoyed bird watching and flower arranging.
Lynn met her only son, Kevin (adopted), when she was 79. They had the pleasure of getting to know each other in her final 16 years of life. Lynn was a vibrant and deeply spiritual woman. Her brother Arthur pre-deceased her in 2022. She is survived by her son Kevin, her grandsons Connor, Cole and Dean, and her brother-in-law, Leo Supple.
Visiting hours will be held Sunday, May 19th, 2024 from 4 to 7 pm at the Folsom Funeral Home, 649 High Street, Westwood. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers donations to the Salvation Army, 1500 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02118 would be appreciated.