Obituary of ELEANOR MASSEY

Eleanor Ann (Nelson) Massey

April 1, 1930 - September 4, 2024

Eleanor Nelson Massey passed away on September 4, 2024 (1 Elul 5784). She was 94. Eleanor was a children’s librarian for nearly 50 years, making her career in the town where she and her sister grew up. She was a member of the New Jersey Education Association. 

“I love the kids,” she said on her retirement in 2006. “The teachers teach them to read, and I teach them to love books and literature.” A former school administrator said, “She was an old-fashioned librarian, but she was also at the cutting edge. Eleanor helped to anticipate and lead us into the 21st century, some of us kicking and screaming, to transform the library into a media center equipped with current technology. She had the vision and the persistence to be a change agent in her own area.” She served on state media education technology councils.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island to Walter and Jeanette Nelson, Eleanor enjoyed visiting Roger Williams Park with her family and summers at the rustic family cottage in Conimicut, RI. The family moved to Metuchen so that Walter could work as a chemist for National Lead Corporation. Jeanette had a Victory Garden, and raised fruit trees in the backyard.

Eleanor attended Metuchen public schools, as did her four sons, who would sometimes run into her in the school library. She attended Douglass College where she studied library science. During her time at Douglass she met her future husband, Marvin Massey formerly of Brooklyn, NY and Highland Park, NJ. Eleanor had several suitors but Marvin won her over. 

Eleanor did it all – she balanced her career, family and the household checkbook. Often put to the test raising four boys in the 1960s and 70s, she was sweet and generous. She hosted parties for Marvin’s clients; holiday celebrations and beach vacations with her sister Geri’s family; and neighborhood kids at the family’s driveway basketball court and pool. She bestowed her grandchildren with books, and read to them. During the time she lived at Parker at Stonegate, she read aloud to the children at the onsite child care center there, as well as with friends and family--always with a librarian’s engaging intonation.

Eleanor loved dogs. Over the years, she had boxers, golden retrievers, and her beloved dachshund mix, Joy, who delighted her neighbors at Parker at Stonegate where they lived together for several years.

Eleanor was predeceased by her younger sister, Geraldine (Geri) (Alfandre) Oldman and her husband of 58 years.

Eleanor is survived by her four sons, Henry (Susan DeMark), David (Wendy Massey), Michael (Claudia Green), and Jon (Maria Massey); 8 grandchildren, Marshall, Haley, Zander, Daniel, Jacob, Zachary, Liana, and Tansy; and one great grandson, Miles; cousins, nieces, and nephews. The Massey family is deeply grateful for the care and compassion that the staff at Parker at Stonegate and Evergreen way provided to Eleanor.

A funeral for Eleanor will be held Monday September 9 at 11am at Temple Neve Shalom, 250 Grove Avenue, Metuchen, NJ 08840. Burial will be at 12:30 at Beth Israel Cemetery in Woodbridge, NJ.