Ethel B. Trask

The final measure of a life is not how much money is accumulated from hard work or luck, or the stature of one’s education or advanced social position. At the conclusion of life when the body begins cooling and only the naked husk remains, the measure of a life comes down to if one had remained committed to truth, neighbor, beauty, and God. In this regard, Ethel Boghosian Trask’s life can be measured as “Not Wanting.” The daughter of second generation Armenians Vartkis and Pauline (Kalousdian) Boghosian, whose parents escaped the first horrific genocide of the 20th century, to become proud citizens of the United States, Ethel was born in Boston July 29, 1949. After several years living in exotic, but war ravaged Okinawa, Japan, where her father worked as an engineer, Ethel and her older brother, Gregory, returned home with their parents, eventually moving into the large 1950s track housing “Woodvale” development in Danvers, Massachusetts. Nurtured by teachers and a loving extended family, Ethel was active at Danvers in High School and Salem State College, graduating in 1971 to become a business, and later computer teacher. Along the way she took pity on a local boy, and in 1972 married Richard Trask, becoming an equal partner in all manner of history adventures in which they participated. Their “Mom and Pop” publishing business, “Yeoman Press,” was an interesting, multi-decade side-line producing several books. Daughter Elizabeth May arrived in 1977, and has been the brightest light and most successful creation of their union. Ethel’s love of knowledge, language, typing, and her students served her well at positions in Ipswich, and later Saugus High School, till her retirement in 2007. She earned an advanced education degree, and was also a fervent lover of music, serving as a cantor in Catholic Churches in Nahant and Danvers. She was also a long-term member of The Paul Madore Chorale, traveling with them on tour to Europe three times. Ethel’s technical and traditional handcrafting skills are too numerous to mention. And she always found a way to integrate her skills for the assistance of others - both neighbor and stranger. She devoted much of her after-retirement life to religious self-education, and attempting to make others more comfortable, faith-filled, and happy. She loved and was always of assistance to her extended family, especially her grandchildren Zachary and Grace, and their stellar father Brad Peterson. Ethel’s husband could never repay her for her love, encouragement, skills, and kindnesses to him over their 46 short years of marriage. Her life displayed, even with the typical flaws of any human, a solid, simple and strong love of God and her fellow man. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her heart. Among relatives surviving Ethel Trask are her forlorn husband Richard B. Trask; beloved daughter Elizabeth May Peterson and son [in-law] Brad; special grandkids Zachary Alan and Grace Elizabeth Peterson; brother and sister-in-law Gregory K. and Donna L. Boghosian; sister-in-law Faye A. Trask; beloved aunt Theresa Brundage; nephews Gregory Boghosian, Todd Boghosian; Gardner S. Trask III and his wife Patricia; Garth Trask and his wife Mary; Dane Schlick-Trask and his wife Kara; and niece Heidi A Basic and her husband Brian. Cousins include: Linda Adanalian; Arsen Russian; George Kouchackdian and his wife Julie; Becky Kalousdian; Linda Zarzatian and her husband Jack; Diane Boyd and her husband Ed; and Diane Biagiotti and her husband Ken. Among other relatives are North Shore cousins Gardner S. Trask IV; Lisa M. Trask, Julie Panciocco and her husband Anthony; Jamie D. Boghosian, Ava G. Boghosian, Jenna P. Boghosian and Gavin T. Boghosian. There are numerous other cousins both near and far. Armenians consider any cousin no matter how far down the relation line, to be beloved and close cousins. Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, May 25, 2019 at 10AM in Saint Richard Church, 90 Forest St., Danvers. Burial will follow in Walnut Grove Cemetery, Sylvan St., Danvers. Visiting hours are Friday from 3-8PM in C.R. Lyons & Sons Funeral Directors, 28 Elm St., Danvers. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the Danvers Historical Society Israel Putnam Homestead, P.O. Box 381, Danvers, MA 01923; St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105; or Saint Richard Parish, 90 Forest St., Danvers, MA 01923.