Ellen Mary McDevitt

Ellen M. McDevitt, of Scituate Massachusetts, passed peacefully from this world on Sunday, June 7, 2020. She was born January 18, 1954, to Patricia Bozarth, of Ocean City, New Jersey, and Neil McDevitt, now deceased. At the age of 17 she met Stan Humphries, who was then just 19, at the landmark Hogate’s Fine Seafood Restaurant in OCNJ, where they both had summer jobs. Their love was celebrated by marriage in 1974, a marriage of 46 years. They became known as one being - “E&S” - from then on. Their son Drew (Andrew McDevitt Humphries) was born in 1981 and he was the brightest star in Ellen’s eyes from the moment he arrived.

Ellen graduated from Ocean City High School in 1971 and was a graduate of University of Pennsylvania, School of Dental Hygiene. Her career as a dental hygienist culminated at a periodontal practice where she specialized in surgical assisting.

Ellen lived and loved fiercely. She loved the ocean, salt breezes and the boardwalk in OCNJ. She grew up “at the shore” of the Atlantic coast; then she, Stan, and later Drew, lived on the South Shore of Cape Cod Bay for over 40 years. Ellen also loved the mountains and was a skilled skier, treasuring annual family ski trips to the White Mountains in NH and ME, to the Rockies in CO, Mt. Hood and to the Austrian Alps.

She had a heart for those on the margins and was an advocate for public health as a young intern on the tribal lands in northern California. Her heart for equality and justice fueled her life-long passion for politics and she readily, and articulately, defended equal opportunities for the underserved.

To Ellen, family always came first. This year, Ellen delighted in welcoming Drew’s fiancé, Jess Foster, into the McDevitt-Humphries family. As a cherished aunt, she never missed a birthday or special event for any of her many nieces and nephews.

Ellen will forever be in the hearts of her mother Pat, of Ocean City, NJ; her sister Patti Gardener (Rich) of Ocean View, NJ; her brother John McDevitt (Karen) of Ocean View, NJ; Paul McDevitt (Bret) of Absecon, NJ; her sister Karen Wagenseller (David) of Windsor, CA; and her brother Matthew Bozarth of Ocean City, NJ. Ellen is the beloved aunt to nine nieces and nephews, and twelve “gran” nieces and nephews, in the McDevitt family, and to four nieces and nephews, and seven + 2/3 “gran” nieces and nephews in the Humphries family.

Stan and Drew are immeasurably grateful to her specialists at Beth Israel Deacones in Boston: Dr. Pushpa Narayaswami, Neurology; Dr. Jonathan Hausmann, Rheumatology; Dr. Robert Hallowell, Pulmonology; and Dr. John Danzinger, Nephrology, one of Boston Magazine’s top 200 doctors in Massachusetts. Their exceptional skills, and continued deep care of Ellen, provided beacons of hope.

If you are considering a gift in memory of Ellen, in lieu of flowers, please consider the non-profit Scituate Etrusco Associates, Inc., who provide medical and nursing equipment to those who may not have access to them otherwise. You can reach them at (781) 545-4411 or by mail at:

Scituate Etrusco Associates

PO Box 265

Scituate, MA 02066

A celebration of Ellen’s life will be held at a future date.