Baker City, Oregon
Ellen Williams, 80, a longtime Baker City resident, died May 27, 2002, at Meadowbrook Place in the presence of her family.
There will be a celebration of Ellen’s life beginning at 2 p.m. Friday at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Pastor John Goodyear of the Baker Valley Church of Christ will officiate. There will be a reception afterward at the Elkhorn Athletic Club, 1243 Second St.
Ellen was born on March 21, 1922, at Minot, N.D., to Millie Gaslin and Orville Planer. Ellen grew up at The Dalles. She graduated from The Dalles High School in 1940 where she first developed her lifelong passion for art.
Ellen married Henry L. “Snoose” Williams in 1940 at Goldendale, Wash. They moved to Baker City in 1944. They had six children: Harry Williams, Dana Williams Endicott, George Williams, Beth Williams, Terry Williams and Jerry Williams.
Ellen was an accomplished artist and teacher and served as the first president of Crossroads Arts Center. Her paintings hang at the Oregon Trail Regional Museum, the Baker County Public Library, the Sumpter Junction and in many local homes and businesses.
In 1983, Ellen donated “Crossing the Powder” to the Oregon Trail Museum, a painting that later was photographed and distributed as a postcard, with the proceeds dedicated to the museum. Ellen’s artistic legacy endures in her students, family, children and grandchildren.
Ellen’s life and art encourages us to consider beauty in even the smallest details of our lives, her family said. She will be greatly missed.
Survivors include her sister, Olive; her children, Harry Williams of Baker City, Dana Endicott of Ontario, Terry Williams of Boise and Jerry Williams of Nacogdoches, Texas; and many nieces and nephews; and nine grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her sister, Beatrice; her husband, Henry; her son, George; and her daughter, Beth.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Oregon Trail Regional Museum through Gray’s West & Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, May 31, 2002
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor