Obituary: Julia F. Ellsworth

Julia, 92, a resident of Meeker Walbridge Wing, was born July 26, 1920 at Rocky Ford, Colo., to John Martin and Fannie (Cole) Little. She attended Colorado State College of Education, now Northern Colorado University at Greeley, Colo., for two years. She taught in rural schools in Yuma, Colo., for three and a half years. She married Truman John Ellsworth of Yuma, Colo., on Dec. 23, 1943. They were divorced in 1953. Two children were born to this union — Richard Eugene and Karen Kay.
During her married life she lived several years in Texas where her husband was stationed in the U.S. Army. In 1953 she returned, with her children, to Rocky Ford where she was employed by Safeway Stores, Inc. In 1967 she worked with the Head Start Program for several months in Rocky Ford. Returning to college in Greeley she received her degree in elementary education in 1968. Following her graduation she moved to Arizona where she taught elementary education and held supervisory positions in various Bureau of Indian (BIA) schools on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Following this period she moved to Guatemala where she taught elementary education in an American school three years.
Upon returning to the United States she located in McMinnville, Ore., to be near a sister and her family. Julia taught elementary education three years in the McMinnville Christian School until her retirement. In 2006 Julia moved to the Fairfield Complex in Meeker, Colo., to be near her son Richard and her daughter-in-law, Pearl. After a fall in 2010 she was moved into the Walbridge Wing, where she passed away on Aug. 3, 2012.
Julia was active in the Church of the Nazarene her entire life doing private instruction and child care. She also served as a treasurer of some church activities. She spent much of her retirement traveling over the world with her sisters and different church groups. She loved the Lord, loved to play her piano and accordion, and her walks through Meeker.
She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother, two sisters, and her daughter, Karen Nichols. She is survived by two sisters, Margret Schmidt of Sublette, Kan., and Grace Schack of Colorado Springs, Colo.; her brother-in-law, Grant Stockton of McMinnville, Ore.; her son Richard and his wife Pearl, of Meeker; a granddaughter, Becky Proctor and her husband Rick and their three children of Eaton, Colo.; grandson Daniel Ellsworth and his wife Betsy and their two children of River Falls, Wisc., and many nieces and nephews in various locations.
Julia was cremated in Craig, will have a memorial service Saturday, Aug. 11, at 11 a.m. at the Meeker Christian Church, 443 School St., in Meeker, and will be laid to rest in Valley View Cemetery in Rocky Ford, Colo.