Alice Brennan, Longtime Shrewsbury Educator, Passes Away After Battle With Cancer

SHREWSBURY, MA — "I am deeply saddened to pass along the news that Alice Brennan, a longtime Shrewsbury educator and leader, passed away early yesterday after a courageous battle with cancer," wrote Superintendent Joe Sawyer in a message to the Shrewsbury school community on Friday.

Brennan started teaching in Shrewsbury in 1986 at Coolidge School, and the next year began teaching kindergarten at Beal when the building re-opened as an early childhood center. Brennan became a curriculum specialist at Beal ten years later, and in 2006 became an instructional coach who worked at both Beal and Coolidge. She was named the principal at Beal in 2007, and she served in that role through her retirement in 2012.

"As a teacher and educational leader, Mrs. Brennan touched the lives of thousands of Shrewsbury's children and their families," wrote Sawyer. "Mrs. Brennan did an amazing job of making both children and their parents feel welcome and special, making their first experience with our school district a positive one. She was also beloved by her colleagues, who knew her to be totally committed to doing whatever she could to improve the education of the students she served."

No one, he said, loved Beal more than Brennan.

"She exuded joy whenever she was working with her students (and this was especially evident when she led the famous Beal sing-along each week!)," he wrote. "I personally enjoyed working with Mrs. Brennan as a fellow member of the district's leadership team, and perhaps no colleague ever laughed, or made me laugh, as much as she did. Her spirit, her class, her values, and her generosity were at the heart of Beal, and she left a wonderful legacy when she concluded her distinguished career. Her contributions helped make Beal and our school district what they are today."

Brennan made many other contributions to Shrewsbury, where she raised her family and served the community as a longtime Town Meeting representative.

"On behalf of everyone in the Shrewsbury Public Schools, I offer sincere condolences to her husband, Paul, their children and grandchildren, and their extended family and friends," he wrote.

Brennan's obituary can be found here, and memorials in her name may be made to Shrewsbury Education Foundation, 55 Gulf Street, Shrewsbury, MA 01545 or Lung Cancer Alliance, P.O. Box 418372, Boston, MA 02241-8372.