Elaine M. Beckwith

Elaine (McQuade) Beckwith, passed away peacefully at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene New Hampshire on March 5th, 2024. She is survived by her son Brian of Webster, MA, her sister Linda of Oxford, MA, her sister Susan of Keene, NH, three brothers and many nieces and nephews.

Elaine was born in Reading, England to Edward and Florence McQuade. Edward, being a member of the US Air Force, was stationed all around the world with his young family. Elaine had many happy memories living in places such as London, Izmir, Turkey, Nebraska, Texas and finally settling in Shrewsbury, MA after her father’s retirement where she graduated High School in 1973.

Elaine loved to live life to its fullest – always seeking out new adventures and memorable experiences. She shared many of these moments with her first nephew Jared during his youth and loved to tell stories of their time together traveling around New England, especially their trips to Story Land in Glen, NH.

One of Elaine’s greatest loves was animals. She was particularly fond of horses, ponies, and dogs. During her childhood, she would sneak off to a local farm and ride the ponies for hours and made friends with plenty of stray dogs – much to the disagreement of her mother. As an adult, Elaine spent a decade raising Shetland Ponies and showing them at contests all over New England.  She loved spending time with them and all the hard work that came with it.

Elaine’s greatest accomplishment, as she said many times, was being a mother. She was told by doctors she would never have children, and so when her son Brian unexpectedly came along many years later, she found a love she never knew she could have. She dedicated herself to ensuring Brian had a loving and fulfilled life, making many sacrifices along the way. Elaine passed on so much of herself to her son and she was proud of the man he had become. Brian and Elaine would talk every day and he will miss her tremendously.

Elaine will be interred alongside her aunt and father in a private ceremony in Worcester, MA.

In lieu of flowers, she asked for donations to be made to DAV.org.