Ellen Havens was born in Allegan, Michigan, on February 15, 1926, the oldest of five children to Roger and Ula (Armstrong) Ivens. She is preceded in death by her husband, Lloyd Havens, both of her parents, and her four siblings and their spouses: Elmer and Maddy Ivens, Ethelyn “Cissy” and Bob DeHaan, Thomas and Ardis Ivens, and Alvin “Knobby” and Liddy Ivens. Surviving are her two children: Linda (Larry) Hart and Jeffrey (Linda) Havens, as well as four grandchildren: Betsy (Haven McVarish) Havens, Kate (Robin Guttman) Havens, Alex (Christin) Hart, and Ross (Carly) Hart, as well as eight great-grands: Siduri and Marigold McVarish; Onyx and Yarrow Havens; Ian Hart; and Stetson, Freya, and Finley Hart. While still a toddler, Ellen’s family moved to Worton, Maryland, where she spent her childhood in the tough life of a Depression-era farm girl. Ellen was smart and hardworking. She graduated from Chestertown High School in 1943 with honors and, as a senior, was presented with the DAR Good Citizen Award. After high school graduation, she left home and attended secretarial school in Wilmington, Delaware before landing her first job at National Vulcanizing Fibre Company. In the interim, her parents separated, and her mother returned to Michigan in 1945. Ellen followed and found work at the Kalamazoo Paper Box Company, where she met Lloyd, whom she married soon after on November 9, 1946. The couple lived in Lloyd’s childhood home for six years before building their own house on Midway Street in 1951. That same year Linda was born, and three years later, Jeff. Ellen was a stay-at-home mother until the children entered school when she took a secretarial position at Galloup Pipe and Supply—also the employer of her brother-in-law Bob. She worked there for several years, helping to save enough money for their new house on Woodlea Avenue, built by Bob’s brother George, moving in 1963. Once settled, Ellen decided she wanted to pursue her lifelong goal of becoming a schoolteacher, so she enrolled in Western Michigan University in the fall of 1963, graduating magna cum laude in 1967. She immediately found work in Comstock Schools, where she taught early elementary grades until retiring in 1988. After retiring, and while still energetic, she and Lloyd took many road trips with their friends Dick and Hanna Haller. They generally traveled south toward Texas, enjoying scenic stops along the way. One of Ellen’s most memorable trips, though, was a week in England with her sister-in-law Liddy and niece Debbie Ivens, facilitated by her nephew David, who was living there at the time. She often fondly recalled their adventures. When not traveling, Ellen loved the garage and estate sale circuit—going to sales and auctions regularly, finding bargains and treasures. In 2005, Lloyd passed away after a lengthy fight with cancer. Although heartbreaking, Ellen soldiered on and after a few years, she struck up a friendship with Chet Czuk—the widower husband of Lloyd’s cousin Caroline. For almost ten years they shared concerts in the park and family dinners until Chet, too, passed away. Ellen managed to live in her “I plan to die in that house” residence until she was 94, when it became too much and she moved to assisted living. It was a timely move, since within a few months she suffered a stroke that was discovered quickly and thus the damage was minimized. Ellen was happy at her new home, ‘only’ complaining about the food, other residents, and medication delivery almost every time we called her on the phone. She was generally content, though, living by her “life is precious” philosophy, and was very thankful to Janna, the director at both her first and second senior living locations, for helping her through her final years. The effects of a second stroke, pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and kidney failure eventually took a toll. Ellen passed away on Jan 7, exactly ten years after her youngest brother Knobby, and just five weeks short of her 100th birthday. She will be greatly missed.