Elizabeth Cusack

Elizabeth Cusack lived a life full of love. Love for her family both in the Boston area and in her native Nova Scotia, Canada. Love for her many friends, whom she collected like she collected recipes, all through her life. Love of learning, travel, books, fun and laughter.

Born Margaret Elizabeth Sears in August 1933 in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Elizabeth was one of five children. Antigonish is a college town and lucky for her, it attracted the love of her life as an undergraduate, her husband of 64 years, Bernie Cusack (who died in 2020). Elizabeth, like many women of her generation, wasn’t encouraged to go to college when she was young. So instead she went to college when she had four children and a job as a Boston Public School librarian, graduating from Emmanuel College when she was 50. Bernie, a professor of American History at Emmanuel, proudly handed her her diploma on stage.

If you were lucky enough to be loved by Elizabeth, as so many were, you know it was like the sun shining on your face. Among her beloved family are her four children, Fran (“Pancho”), Carrie, John and Jen; her devoted daughters- and sons-in-law Marie, Phoebe, Colleen, Dan and Mike; and Gammy’s very lucky grandchildren and their partners: Noah (Chantal), Geneva (Sam), Angus (Grace), Tom (Katie), Seamus (Rowan), Will (Sydney), Rose (Brad), Adelaide and Martin. In Canada, she leaves many devoted nieces, nephews, cousins and their children.
Elizabeth loved bringing people together. She joined (or started) all the book clubs, hosted salmon suppers for 40 every summer like clockwork, kept in touch with friends and family in two countries over a long lifetime.

Maya Angelou wrote “A great soul never leaves us. It brings us together again and again.” With that in mind, we will come together to celebrate Elizabeth’s life at a memorial service on Friday, May 29 at 9 a.m. at St. Susanna Church, 262 Needham St. in Dedham, MA, followed by a reception.

If you want to honor Elizabeth’s memory, please reach out to a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while. If you’d like to do so with a donation, please consider giving to the Boston Public Library Fund (bplfund.org), which supports programs for all the libraries and neighborhoods of Boston.

To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Elizabeth Cusack, please visit our Tree Store.