Greenfield, MA – Mary Ellen Preston (née Bell) died at her Greenfield, MA home on June 6, 2026, at age 81. Born January 23, 1945, in Leominster, MA, to Harold and Corinne (Johnson) Bell, she was raised in Worcester and educated at Simmons College. Her first marriage led to a family with five children, and relocation to Grand Forks, North Dakota.
In 1979, Mary Ellen married John Preston, beginning a deeply satisfying, nearly 45-year bond. The Prestons lived by a “family of choice” ethic, welcoming and supporting a wide circle of loved ones of all ages as True Family – a spirit that shaped the rest of Mary Ellen’s life.
A devoted Quaker, she was a longtime member of Mount Toby Friends Meeting in Leverett, serving as clerk and on numerous committees. She was especially committed to Mt. Toby’s Alternative to Violence Program at Osborne Correctional Institution in Somers, CT, building lasting relationships with incarcerated men over many years.
In the early 1990s, Mary Ellen became director of the Woolman Hill Conference Center in Deerfield, bringing the Prestons back to Massachusetts. There they carried on a Thanksgiving potluck tradition begun in Grand Forks, later drawing up to 100 people to Mt. Toby each year. She went on to mentor children at the Greenfield Girls’ Club and, with John, became a fixture of Greenfield youth athletics and the arts – cheering at Little League and basketball games and rarely missing a Coop Concert at Energy Park.
She is survived by her children, Mark, Matthew, Meredith, Michael, and Michelle; her sister Heather; John’s children Beth, Carol, and Joel; her grandchildren Charlotte, Josephine, Jasmine, Jada, TJ, Emily, Angela, and Tracy; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was also a beloved “True Grandparent” to Luke, Andrew, Gillis, Shepard, Leo, and other young people in the Pioneer Valley. She was predeceased by John Preston and her brother, Frank Bell.
A memorial will be held Saturday, August 15, at Mt. Toby Friends Meeting in Leverett, MA.
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