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Ellen Joanna McMullin MacKenzie, 92

Ellen Joanna McMullin MacKenzie, 92, passed away Feb. 16, 2017, in Coeur d’Alene. Born on Aug. 24, 1924, in the McMullin family home in Hillsboro, Mo., to Morris Leonard McMullin and Sara Eliza “Elizabeth” Baker McMullin, a native of Iowa. Ellen’s grandfather, Richard Watson McMullin, was the publisher of the Jefferson County, Missouri, newspaper, The Jefferson Democrat, where her father worked as a typesetter. In her birth announcement, her father declared his first daughter “a precious jewel.”

When Ellen was 5 months old, she moved with her parents and older brother, Richard, to St. Petersburg, Fla., where, on Ellen’s 2nd birthday, her sister, Mary Lois, was born. A third red-headed daughter, Patricia Jean, was added to the family when they returned to Hillsboro.

Sadly, Ellen lost her father to pneumonia when she was just 6 years old, after the family moved to Anita, Iowa, in 1931. This was the beginning of the Great Depression, and her mother, despite having a degree in home economics from Iowa State College, struggled to care for her young family. At times one or more of the children were sent to live with family members or friends. Ellen lived with different families in various locations in Iowa. She especially enjoyed the time spent on her Uncle Wilber’s farm and the Bently’s dairy farm.

After graduating from high school in Osceola, Iowa, Ellen lived in St. Louis prior to attending a semester at Shurtleff College in Altoona, Ill.. Ellen then joined her sister, Mary, in St. Petersburg, where they worked as movie theater cashiers and enjoyed dancing with soldiers at the USO, though they were forbidden to date them. In 1944, seeking more gainful employment, Ellen and Mary went to work in the administration office of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn., one of the facilities collaborating on the “Manhattan Project,” which developed the atomic bomb. Ellen also briefly attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

In 1947, Ellen and a friend embarked on a great adventure, hitchhiking to Oregon from Tennessee. Ellen had many fond memories of this trip of the people who gave them rides and the sites they saw along the way, including Yellowstone National Park, Mount Rushmore and Mount Rainier.

Ellen settled in the Bay area, living in San Francisco and Sausalito, where she worked various jobs including clerk at Southern Pacific and as a nightclub photographer for local hotels. She took courses at both UC Berkeley and UC Davis. On March 12, 1949, she married Harry Miller in Reno, Nev., whom she had met at a party. Harry worked for PG&E and they lived in various locations in California, moving with his job. Ellen was widowed when a work accident claimed Harry’s life in 1952.

While studying horticulture at Oregon State College in Corvallis, Ellen met and married fellow OSC student, Donald E. MacKenzie, on Dec. 23, 1954. Following her marriage, Ellen focused on what she had always wanted to do — be a wife and mother. Don’s career in forestry took them to various small northeast Oregon towns including LaGrande where Don worked for Boise Cascade. In 1965, they purchased 30 acres north of Elgin and built a home. In 1973, Don’s career took them to Grangeville, Idaho. They purchased 80 acres on Crane Hill, east of Kooskia, Idaho, and built a house, which they called home for the better part of the next 34 years. Ellen and Don raised three daughters — Donellen Jo “Donni,” Alaine Holly “Lanni” and Heather Lea.

Ellen was a very talented and creative person who had many hobbies. She loved being outdoors, enjoying gardening, birdwatching and working in her greenhouses at both her Elgin and Kooskia homes. She raised peafowl, sewed, macramaed, crocheted, knitted, and dabbled in drawing and watercolors. She loved classical music, was an avid photographer, as well as an excellent cook, who enjoyed trying new recipes. In her later years, Ellen learned to use the internet to research genealogy and did extensive research on family history, communicating with like-minded people around the country. Ellen was a soft touch for animals and rescued many abandoned cats and dogs, sometimes to her husband Don’s dismay.

After Don’s death in October 2008, Ellen moved to St. Maries, Idaho, near her oldest daughter, Donellen. In 2013, a broken leg and advancing dementia ended her ability to live alone. She lived in assisted living facilities in the Hayden area until moving in with her daughter, Alaine, in Coeur d’Alene in October 2016.

Ellen was preceded in death by first husband, Harry Miller; husband of 53 years, Donald E. MacKenzie; her mother and father; brother Richard McMullin; and sisters Patricia Brandt and Mary McMullin. She is survived by daughters Donellen Moen (Jim) of St. Maries, Alaine MacKenzie and Heather Barber (Mark) of Rathdrum; grandchildren Erica Moen Reynolds (Josh) of Harrison, Heath Moen (Katey) of Post Falls, Brandon Barber and Brodia Barber of Rathdrum; and five great-grandchildren.

We thank By the Lake Assisted Living, which welcomed Ellen and her little white maltipoo, Mitzi. Special thanks to staff, Henry, the chef, and Connie, activities leader, who gave generously and cheerfully of themselves to enrich the lives of the residents and helped make Ellen’s transition to assisted living more pleasant. Thanks also to the staff of Kootenai Health Respite Program who enriched Ellen’s life with their warm, inviting and loving atmosphere in her final months.

A memorial service for Ellen will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017, at the St. Maries Presbyterian Church.