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Virginia Young Ellis Obituary

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Virginia Young Ellis

Fairfield, ME

August 1, 1927 - October 18, 2020

Virginia Young Ellis Obituary

Virginia Young Ellis, 93, died on Sunday, October 18, at Seal Rock Healthcare in Saco, Maine. Just a month ago she contracted Covid-19 and remarkably, she pulled through and came out of quarantine, so her children were able to be with her in her last days. She was determined not to let the virus be the cause of her death, and she wanted people to know she had it so they would be careful and wear a mask! Virginia was born on August 1, 1927 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Laura and John Filmer Young. She married Osborne (Oz) Ellis in July 1949 and they celebrated their 70th anniversary before Oz passed away in October 2019. Jinny was named Virginia by her father after the state where he grew up, in Newport News. Her mother Laura was originally from Ontario, Canada, and they raised their only child in Swampscott, MA, and in Bourne on Cape Cod. Jinny loved being near the ocean and went swimming whenever she could. The bigger the waves, the better! After graduating from Colby College in 1949 and marrying Oz, they spent their lives in Central Maine, and a highlight of her summers were trips to Reid State Park or Popham Beach, in between weekends and vacations at Moosehead Lake. Jinny is survived by daughters Laura Muzerolle (David) of Las Vegas and Jan Snitzer (Steve) of Needham, MA; sons Dana Ellis (Aletha Boyle) of Belgrade and Matthew Ellis of Winthrop. Oz and Jinny have seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, one great-great grandchild and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. During their first two years of marriage, Jinny worked at the University of Maine library in Orono while Oz finished his civil engineering degree. It was there that she snuck home a scrawny orange kitten and kept him secret until she could talk Oz into having a cat. Mortimer Snerd was a beloved family member for 18 years. Jinny described herself as a homemaker and she was always busy gardening, cooking, and caring for her four children, primarily in Benton, where they lived for thirty-one years. She kept busy outside the home too, as a Girl Scout leader, Sunday School teacher, a literacy volunteer, and a public library volunteer. She enjoyed delivering Meals on Wheels and serving as a ballot clerk in Benton and as a patient and opinion poll volunteer at Thayer Hospital in Waterville. In later years, she visited elderly shut-ins in the community. Jinny and Oz were avid gardeners. With freezing, canning and a big root cellar, the family was never without garden vegetables all year round. Jinny and Oz were active members of the Pleasant Street United Methodist Church in Waterville, a community they loved dearly. Even though Jinny and Oz moved to Brunswick from Winslow two years ago, they stayed connected, and the Ellis children are grateful for the continuing support of the PSUMC family to this day. Jinny was a member of the United Methodist Women, and she enjoyed Bible Study and the Friendship Circle. An avid bridge player her whole life, Jinny continued to play her favorite game almost to the end of her life. Jinny loved her four years at Colby and remained lifelong friends with her bridge-playing roommates, who are in touch to this day. Jinny’s children remember her as a ‘get it done now’ type of mother. She was always at home when they got home from school, often with homemade cookies. She made delicious prime rib for Sunday dinner, and there was dessert every night after supper (if you ate your vegetables). She loved to decorate the house for holidays. Rides to every single practice, game or concert were never in doubt. She read to her kids every day and took them regularly to the Public Library. She introduced them to classical music at Colby concerts and taught them resilience by requiring early morning swimming lessons and pushing them outside to play as often as possible, even in below zero weather! In later years, she made sure her grandchildren were also constructively occupied; she always had books, games, and activities ready when they visited, and insisted they learn to play Uno with her. The Ellis daughters and sons would like to thank care providers at Sunnybrook Village in Brunswick and Seal Rock Healthcare in Saco, as well as the many friends and family members who have demonstrated their love and support over the past year. As an expression of sympathy, memorial contributions may be sent to the Pleasant Street United Methodist Church, 61 Pleasant Street, Waterville 04101.

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