Ellen May Gill

ELLEN MAY GILL

Ellen Gill, 92, of Dodge Center, passed away peacefully with family by her side on December 19, 2019, at Fairview Care Center.

Ellen May Mueller was born in LaCrosse, WI, on May 19, 1927, to Paul Erich and Edna (Schaldach) Mueller.  Ellen's parents owned and operated the Family Home Bakery in St. Charles, MN, until 1941.   While Ellen was in high school, she spent a summer living and working in Rochester with future sister-in-law Beverly (Gill) Todd.  Ellen graduated from high school in 1945.  She earned her diploma as part of the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps at the Kahler School of Nursing in Rochester.  Ellen married Darrel Gill on August 25, 1949, at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in St. Charles.  They lived in Winona and Greeley, Colorado, before moving to Dodge Center in 1952 where Darrel began a 37-year teaching career while Ellen was employed at Dr. Kulstad's office and Fairview Nursing Home, where she was the Director of Nursing for 18 years.  When Charter House opened, she decided to focus on direct patient care again, remaining there until retiring in 1992.  While her mother was a resident at Fairview in the late 1990s, Ellen went back to work part-time, saying, "I am here visiting my mother every day and they need an evening charge nurse so I might as well help a few evenings a week."

During retirement, Ellen continued to help others by volunteering in the community, in her church, and at Fairview. She was a past board member of the United Way. She was a long-time volunteer with SEMCAC where she provided respite and transportation to medical appointments. She helped children with reading at the school and also assisted at the Used-A-Bit Shop. She was a member of Grace Lutheran Church, the American Legion Auxiliary and Fairview Auxiliary.

Darrel and Ellen loved traveling to see their children and grandchildren.  Ellen visited family in Germany and cherished connecting with her cousins and seeing the places where her father had lived in his youth before moving to the U.S.  She enjoyed reading, singing, games, crafts, and early morning weekday walks with her neighbor Nancy. When she moved to Fairview in 2015, some staff remembered when she worked there in the late 1990s and were surprised to learn her age as she was very youthful and active. Ellen was a giving person who will be missed by those whose lives she touched.

Ellen was preceded in death by her husband, parents, sisters Harriet and Marilyn and brother Paul.  She is survived by her four children, Pamela Gill, Shoreview, MN; Nancy (Steve) Prieve, Minneapolis, MN; Lisa Lunn, Bangor, ME; and Erich (Ann Dunagan) Gill, Bloomington, MN; and her four grandchildren, Beth Gordie, Marina Del Rey, CA; Nathan (Marissa Juul) Prieve, Minneapolis, MN; Erin Lunn, Warren, RI; and Kendall Lunn, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.  She is also survived by her sister, Dolores Larson, sisters-in-law, Beverly Gill, and Sharon Bishop, along with nieces, nephews, cousins, and many loved ones in her community.

The funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, December 28, 2019, at Grace Lutheran Church, 404 Central Ave N, Dodge Center, MN, 55927, with Reverend Timothy Chase officiating. Visitation will be one hour before the service at the church. Interment will be in Riverside Cemetery in Dodge Center. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Fairview Care Center Auxiliary, Grace Lutheran Church or St. Croix Hospice.

Blessed be her memory.