One of the most powerful and passionate crusaders one could ever have the good fortune to meet, Esther Nowell was born in Melrose, MA on September 6, 1917.  She was the daughter of Percival and Mary C. (Spaulding) Pratt and a graduate of Wakefield High School and UMass Amherst. In her professional career, she served as a librarian for the Abraham Lincoln School of Boston.

She was a wife, a mother and a grandmother many times over, but she is most known in town as the founder of “Protection of Animals in Wakefield Society” (PAWS) in 1982.   Esther was passionately devoted to the cause of protecting animals, regularly conducting rescues, attending protests and marches and teaching the town’s fourth graders about animal safety and care.  This was not just a dedication; it was a lifelong passion.  

The organization she created, PAWS, was started in 1982 with 14 charter members and is still a vibrant and important force in the town.  The PAWS bio, written by Mrs. Nowell, for publication in the town’s 350th Anniversary History mentioned that the group had started as a natural outgrowth of the Canine Control Committee begun by the Selectmen in 1977, but soon recognized it needed more members for greater success.  Dedicated to the twin missions of humane response and education, PAWS continues to grow and thrive.  (Please visit their website for more information.) 

Esther was inducted into the WHS Hal of Fame in 2007. She was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year in 1997 by the New England Federation of Humane Societies. Mrs. Nowell was active in many town affairs including Trees for Wakefield, Friends of Lake Quannapowitt, Friends of the Beebe Library, Friends of Breakheart Reservation and even participated in an oral history interview with the Wakefield Historical Commission in the 1990s. 

Esther died at the age of 92, and is still revered and remembered by the greater Wakefield community and her beloved PAWS.  

This biography is part of the Wakefield Historical Society’s “Women in Wakefield” series.  The series will celebrate Women’s History Month with a new story every day of a woman who helped to shape our town.  Many of the stories will be published in the Wakefield Daily Item.  The stories will also be published online at the Historical Society’s website wakefieldhistory.org, and of course on our social media pages.