Tallahassee, FL – Eleanor (Boynton) Jones, a life-long resident of Northampton, died here in May 29th, 2026, at the home of her daughter, Mary Catherine Jones.
Born on June 11th, 1941, Eleanor was the daughter of Frank T. and Julia (Jablonski) Boynton of Florence.
After graduating from the parochial schools of Florence and Northampton, Eleanor attended the College of Our Lady of the Elms in Chicopee, where she earned her A.B. degree. The following year, she was one of the first post-graduate students to be awarded a Master in Education of the Deaf degree at Smith College. This prepared her for a forty-five year teaching career at the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton. Eleanor was teacher-in-charge at Magna House, Clarke’s Lower School dormitory. Over the years, she taught over 350 hearing-impaired children to speak, read, and write English.
Clarke School attracted many visitors during Eleanor’s time there, and the school’s principal frequently brought guests to her classroom, asking at the door if she was “doing anything interesting.” “I am always doing something interesting,” she replied.
Eleanor enjoyed the love and respect of her students, their parents, her colleagues, and the Clarke School alumni. Over the years, Eleanor helped dozens of graduate trainees learn to teach hearing-impaired children to talk. Her international students returned to their home countries to open and teach in schools there. One summer, Eleanor joined a Clarke-affiliated group in the Dominican Republic, providing hearing aids and professional support to teachers there.
Eleanor was committed to education, teaching her own children to read before entering school. On one occasion, she was on the telephone in the kitchen when her two-year-old walked in, tugged on Eleanor’s sleeve, and said, “Mommy, I want you to teach me to read right now!” And she did!
Eleanor always did her best to make life better for others. She led Brownie and Girl Scout troops at Clarke and at the Ryan Road School in Florence. For many years, she was Director of Christian Education at St. John’s Church in Northampton, and volunteered at the Northampton Survival Center, the Red Cross, and The Cooley Dickinson Hospital.
When driving downtown, if Eleanor saw a student dragging luggage between the bus station and the college, she often stopped to give that person a ride. She was always happy to meet people from other countries and learn about their lives there.
Eleanor’s interest in others extended to wildlife, also. Birds, raccoons, skunks, deer, and even bears came to her backyard for varying degrees of hospitality. Cats were also welcomed, some staying for years.
In addition to a daughter and grandson in Japan, Eleanor is survived by her husband, Peter Jones of Florence, her daughter Mary Catherine Jones and her husband, Dr. Owen Quinonez, and their daughter, Hannah Quinonez of Tallahassee, and her sister, Mary Lizee of Florence. She also leaves several cousins, notably Mary Catherine Powers of Westhampton.
The memorial observance will take place on Saturday, July 18, 2026, in the ballroom at the Marriott Courtyard motel, 243 Russell Street, Hadley, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.
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