Ellen Teresa Conroy McNamara, of Stamford, Connecticut, died peacefully in Red Bank, NJ on Sunday, July 30, in the company of her husband, Gregory McNamara, her brother Jim Conroy, her daughter, Michal DiMiceli, and her son, Martin Albanese.
Ellen was born in Rockville Center, New York, in 1950, the oldest of eight children, to Martin Conroy, an advertising writer and executive, and Joan Crowley, a homemaker. As the family grew, they moved to Old Greenwich, Connecticut, and then Wellesley, Massachusetts, before returning to Greenwich for the next two decades.
Ellen attended St. Mary’s High School in Greenwich and graduated from Greenwich High School in 1968. After one year at Newton College of the Sacred Heart, in Massachusetts, she transferred to the University of Connecticut, where she earned her bachelor of arts degree in 1973.
Ellen married and settled first in Port Chester, NY with her family, then moved to Greenwich, CT. She enjoyed restoring and decorating their homes, perfect for welcoming friends and hosting holidays for the large extended family. Ellen was a loving and devoted mother whose unconditional love was ever present.
After dedicating her life to her children, in her 40’s, Ellen went back to earn a master’s degree in education at Manhattanville College, eventually becoming a teacher at Westhill High School, in Stamford, Connecticut, working with students with special needs, who she adored, until her retirement in 2019.