Acton's Charlotte Schell, WWII Cryptographer, Dies at 91

The following obituary is from Acton Funeral Home:

Charlotte Nisbet Schell, of Acton, Massachusetts, July 28, 1923 – August 1, 2014. Loving wife of Francis J. Schell (d. 2013). Survived by their children Mary, Francis, Kate, Lewis, Carl, Barbara and Helen, and fifteen grandchildren.

Charlotte was born in the roaring twenties, and grew up during the great depression. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Wheaton College. During WWII she served as an LTJG in the Navy, working in cryptography.

Postwar, she worked at MIT until she married Francis Schell. She dedicated the next 22 years to raising their seven children. She taught at St. Isidore’s Kindergarten in Stow, MA, and was a teachers aide in the Concord, MA elementary schools, then worked for 22 years at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, where she worked as a computer programmer, on cruise missile detection systems and aircraft collision avoidance. She devoted her life to God, her family, and her country. She taught her children swimming, boating and safety skills, as well as honesty, reverence, loyalty, and the value of a job well done. Charlotte was an avid reader.

Visiting hours on Tuesday, August 5th from 6:00-8:00pm in the Acton Funeral Home 470 Massachusetts Avenue (Rte. 111), Acton, . Funeral Mass Wednesday August 6th at 10:00AM in St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church, 89 Arlington Street, Acton, MA 01720.