Ellen Boden Cremin

April 11, 1954 - October 14, 2022

On April 11, 1954, Ellen Boden was born in San Francisco, Ca, into the ecstatic and loving arms of Kathleen and Joseph Boden, both first generation Irish Americans. Ellen was the first of Kathy and Joe’s three children: her brother Joe followed two years later, and sister Cece two years after that. Kathy and Joe provided their kids with an idyllic childhood surrounded by their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in San Francisco’s Sunset district. As the oldest child in the family, Ellen led the way for her siblings through their school careers, Irish dance, tap, ballet, guitar and piano lessons, and endless hours of playtime and fun. Between the ages of eight and ten, foreshadowing her teaching career, Ellen ran summer camps in the Boden family backyard on 31st Ave. All the neighborhood children showed up all summer long while tiny, little Ellen kept their interest through organized games, crafts, nature hunts, and skits filled with singing and dancing. She attended Lawton Elementary School where she was the student body president, winning with the campaign slogan “Supercalifragilisticexpi- Ellen Boden for President.” After Ellen’s graduation from Lawton, Joe and Kathy made the serendipitous decision to transfer their three children to Holy Name Grammar School. There Ellen met her lifelong best friends, Jo Ellen Maloney and Marian McCarthy, as well as her future husband and love of her life, Dan Cremin.

During her high school years at Presentation, Ellen volunteered at Helpers Homes, (now Helpers Community) an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities on Fulton Street. While attending San Francisco State University, where she pursued a teaching credential and master’s in special education, Ellen became the director of Helpers Homes’ activity center for residents and volunteers, and later served as a board member for the organization. After graduating from SFSU, Ellen began a 40 year-long teaching career. For ten years, Ellen was a beloved kindergarten and second grade teacher at Convent of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco. After her beautiful daughter Amanda was born in 1988, Ellen wanted to work closer to home. She spent the next twenty-eight years as an elementary school teacher in the Hayward School District. Ellen loved teaching her young students and she took pride in providing them with a wonderful start in school. But the role Ellen cherished most was being Amanda’s mother. From the moment she was born, Amanda’s well-being was Ellen’s top priority. Amanda was enrolled in a parent/ infant program when she was three months old, and throughout Amanda’s life Ellen was her cheerleader and advocate. Ellen made sure that in addition to Amanda’s special education, she also spent part of each day mainstreamed into activities with non-disabled, age-appropriate peers. In 1991, when Amanda was three years old, Dan Cremin re-entered Ellen’s life. Though Ellen and Dan dated briefly in 1968, attending a Saint Ignatius High School Christmas dance together, they didn’t reconnect until late ‘91 when they attended Holy Name’s 50 Year School Reunion. From that point forward, Ellen, Dan, and Amanda were a family. They enjoyed a life filled with love and everyday pleasures, adventures, vacations, holidays, and tackling life’s challenges together. They enrolled Amanda in ballet lessons, and along with the extended family, were so proud to see Amanda perform on the stage at the Lesher Center for the Arts each year. Amanda also attended an incredible afterschool program, Ala Costa Center in Berkeley, whose mission is to enrich the lives of children and adults with developmental disabilities. Throughout Amanda’s many years at Ala Costa, Ellen and Dan were active parents in the program’s fundraisers and events. On the day Amanda graduated from Alameda High School, the entire graduating class cheered and clapped for Amanda as she crossed the stage to receive her diploma. Ellen, Dan, and Amanda’s extended family were moved to tears to see this incredible show of support.

Throughout her life, Ellen was a loving and devoted daughter. This was especially evident as she helped care for and comfort her parents and in-laws throughout their later years. She was the best wife, mother, sister, sister-in-law, cousin, friend, and aunt on the planet. She was always present to listen, advise, and help anyone in need, and always eager to celebrate her nieces and nephews’ milestones. Ellen approached every person and each situation in her life with kindness, compassion, generosity, and a calm, clear-headed presence.

On October 14, 2022, Ellen passed peacefully while on vacation in Maui, a place that always brought her joy. Ellen was with the two people she loved most in this world, her loving and devoted husband Dan and her adored daughter, Amanda. Ellen had been declining from Alzheimer’s Disease for the past two years, and during that time, Dan, a geriatric physician, cared for Ellen, protected her, and made sure she regularly saw the people who loved her most. It was important to Dan that he, Ellen, and Amanda continued to travel to the places that brought Ellen joy: Carmel, San Diego, Tahoe, and Maui. Ellen’s family will be forever grateful to Dan for his loving care and devotion to Ellen.

Ellen’s life will always be cherished by her husband Dan and daughter Amanda; brother Joe Boden and wife Sue; sister Cece Bechelli and husband Greg; aunt Ann Newman; sister-in-law Kathleen Bergerson and husband Bill; brother-in-law Pat Cremin and wife Ann Straw; nieces and nephews Michael Boden and wife Anastasia, Matt Bechelli and wife Mariel Rossman, Kaylie Gregori and husband Bryan, Caitlin McSunas and husband Michael, Kelsey Bechelli and husband Travis Urban; Alyssa Bergerson, Margaret, Brigid, Patrick, Maryclare, and Billy Cremin, and Katie and Brian Stuart; great nieces and nephews Julian, Cooper, Georgiana, Mazie, Evelyn, Hazel, Brooks, Rose, and Kai; best friend Jo Ellen Mitchell; Ellen’s many cherished Farley and Boden cousins; her extended Bechelli and Recknagel families, Amanda’s father Bill Wyant and his sister and brother-in-law Jan and Jim Short; and many dear friends.

Ellen’s life will be celebrated with a Memorial Mass at Holy Name Church, 1555- 39th Ave. S.F. on Saturday, November 12, 2022 at 12:30 p.m. Face masks are encouraged while inside the church. A reception will follow at a nearby indoor/ outdoor venue. Details will be announced at the memorial mass. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Ellen’s memory to Holy Name School or to the Alzheimer’s Association.