Marsha E. (Cunningham) Ingalls

Marsha Elaine (Cunningham) Ingalls, 78, of 19 Kings Way, Ipswich passed away peacefully with her family by her side on January 10, 2024 following a brief illness.

Marsha was born in Lynn on February 26, 1945, the daughter of Violet Linnea (Nelson) Cunningham and John Wesley Cunningham. Though raised primarily in Peabody, she and her family moved to Lynn her junior year of high school and she went on to graduate from Lynn English in 1963. She did not realize it at the time, but their relocation to Lynn altered the trajectory of her life in the most beautiful way. It was there that she met her soulmate and love of her life, Jeffrey D. Ingalls. Jeff was a shy young man, but gathered up the courage to ask Marsha for a couples skate at a local Lynn rink when she was just 16. She said yes and from then on they were inseparable.

Marsha and Jeff went on all sorts of adventures together including canoeing trips down the Ipswich River and climbing Mt. Washington in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Marsha went on to be an LPN and nursing could not have been a more perfect fit for her. She was a kind, doting and compassionate nurse, working in various fields over the decades including orthopedics, oncology, mental health and dermatology.

In 1966, Marsha and Jeff were married and shortly thereafter, started a family. A few years later they decided to move from Lynn to idyllic Ipswich in the early 1970s, where she and Jeff would raise their two children, Dorothy (Dodie) and Jeffrey Alan (Jeff). They were delighted to purchase their first home on Heard Drive in a newly built neighborhood called Meadowbrook.

She loved her life on Heard Drive and was surrounded by many wonderful neighbors who quickly became lifelong friends. The neighborhood kids always felt at home in the Ingalls’ household and Marsha welcomed them with open arms.

Marsha was an avid gardener, with abundant flower beds and a vegetable garden. Tending to her gardens brought her so much joy. Later in life, when weeding became too much, she became a master of floral arrangement.

Marsha was proud of her Swedish heritage and traveled to Gothenburg, Sweden with her extended family where she visited the church where her mother, Violet was baptized and saw the small village that her grandfather, Oscar, a carpenter, helped build.

After their retirement, Marsha and Jeff moved to Little Neck, Ipswich where they lived for over two decades. Little Neck was another chapter of her life that she treasured, making many new and lasting friends, zipping around in the golf cart, meeting strangers who became fast friends and enjoying the sweeping views and sunrises over Ipswich Bay. The children of Little Neck meant so much to Marsha and she loved organizing weekly crafts for them and making giant pots of mac and cheese for “Monday Lunch.”

More than anything, Marsha adored her grandchildren and attended nearly every sporting event from soccer to basketball to ice hockey, as well as concerts and plays. She was affectionately dubbed their “Superfan.” They were the shining stars of her life. Known to them as “Nanny or “Nans”, she was indeed, their biggest cheerleader. She also loved her grandpets, Cody the dog and Bella the cat. “Walking” Cody in the golf cart was one of her favorite activities. Bella recently decided to move into Marsha and Jeff’s cottage on Kings Way where life was sweeter and the treats were plentiful. Marsha was known for her sweet tooth and would frequently call her grandchildren in the summer to ask if they would like anything at the Dairy Queen. Once winter approached, her attention turned to finding the elusive “perfect” Christmas tree. Every tree needed to be just the right shape and fullness; ornaments were often “relocated” when she felt they weren’t in their proper place.

She touched many lives with her generosity of spirit and kindness to all. She will be dearly missed.

Marsha leaves behind her beloved husband of 57 years, Jeffrey David Ingalls, her daughter Dorothy (Dodie) Gorham and husband Steven Gorham of Ipswich, son Jeffrey Alan Ingalls and his wife Maureen Ingalls of Newburyport, grandchildren Oliver and Brigitte Gorham and Finn Ingalls, niece Lori Teheen and nephew Bryan Cunningham, nephews Greg and Gary Hogan, many grand nieces and nephews and innumerable friends from Ipswich and beyond. She is predeceased by her brother, Alan Cunningham.

A celebration of her wonderful life is planned for early spring. Date to be determined.