Ellen Lorraine (Lewicki) Conlee died on April 10, 2021, at Anacortes, WA, at the age of 93.

Ellen was born on June 10, 1927, in Pontiac IL, the third of four children born to Winifred Conville Lewicki and Alexander Michael Lewicki. Her father died when Ellen was three years old, and Winnie was left to bring up her four children during the difficult times of the Depression and World War II. Winnie's mother, who emigrated from Ireland and for whom Ellen was named, welcomed the family back to Pontiac to help while Winnie worked at the local shoe factory. Ellen spoke of her childhood as a happy one.

After high school, Ellen was determined to attend college, and worked hard to support herself and her ambitions. After beginning at the then teachers'-college in Normal IL, she transferred to the University of Illinois at Urbana, where she met John Conlee, a handsome fellow back from an Army tour in Korea. They were married February 4, 1950, at the chapel on campus. Ellen's college career gave way to motherhood fairly quickly; by the time John graduated and accepted a commission as a lieutenant in the US Army, they had one baby, Marcy. John received orders for an assignment in Japan as Ellen was pregnant with #2, a son named John Bruce. He was born in Pontiac, IL, where Ellen was staying with her mother until the baby was old enough to travel, when they joined John in Japan. Baby #3, Bill, came along in Virginia, while John was at a training assignment, and Paul, #4, in Illinois when John was teaching ROTC at the University of Illinois. After another sojourn in Virginia, the family moved to southern Germany for a four-year tour which included much travel all over Europe, and the addition of #5, Mary Beth. Ellen and John greatly enjoyed living abroad.

When they returned stateside, John spent two years doing graduate-level work, trying to study with five youngsters running around. The second year brought the birth of their last child, Robert Joseph, and, sadly, his death after just three weeks. The next, and final, Army assignment was four years near Washington DC; the pinnacle of John's military career and a challenging period with four teenagers in the house.

Concurrent with John's retirement from the Army and a move to northern Wisconsin came the marriage of eldest child Marcy. It was hard for Ellen to see the first of her children leave, but it was also the beginning of an exciting new chapter of her life, with any moves determined by themselves, not the Army!

Several years in Wisconsin, and one year in Lubbock, Texas, later, Ellen and John decided to retire a second time. They bought a farm in rural southern Missouri and went "back to the land." The family was smaller, with John and Bill having left to pursue their own dreams. Life here was good, with many new adventures in farming, gardening, and lots of new friends. While living at Walnut Hill, Ellen and John suffered the loss of their son Paul, who died in Bellingham, WA, just days after his 21 ^st birthday. Several years later, they moved a few miles closer to town and John spent a year designing and building a beautiful home for the now-empty-nesters, Mary Beth having entered college. This home in the woods was a special place for Ellen and John. However, grief came again when son Bill died at age 28, leaving his wife and two daughters.

One more major move: to Anacortes WA, to be near son John and his family. Ellen and John greatly enjoyed being active grandparents, and also living near the water for the first time. They made many new friends, traveled, and were active in the community. They also enjoyed having daughter Mary Beth move into the area. After a decade or so, they 'downsized' to a local retirement community, where life slowly wound down for them both. Dementia in them both necessitated a move to an assisted living facility, where John died at the age of 91.  Ellen followed, as she always did happily, less than a year later, two months before her 94 ^th birthday. She leaves three children, four granddaughters she loved so dearly, and seven great-grandsons.

She wrote, "If anyone asks how I want to be remembered, just say, 'She loved and was loved.' People die and leave this world. The love that we created between us remains for you to spend."

Ellen learned and taught that joy and sorrow are companions, and we cannot have one without the other. She showed us how to live with both.