Pearl Cora Ellis

Pearl had three things she was very proud of including getting her GED in the mid 1960's, graduating from Belleville Area College (SWIC) in 1967, and taking the Mensa Test and becoming a Mensa in 1980.

In the late 1940's, Pearl, her husband Frank and their children moved from East St. Louis, Ill., to Eugene, Ore. They briefly lived in Littleton, Colo. and Denver, Colo. They returned to East St. Louis, Ill., in the early 1950's because they wanted to be with family.

Pearl had a varied work history. At age 16, she worked at Obear-Nester Glass Company. In Denver, Colo., she was a seamstress in a dressmaker shop. In Oregon, she picked fruits and vegetables for various growers (she especially hated picking filberts.) Back in East St. Louis, she had various office jobs; she retired at age 46 as a seed analyst at Manglesdorf Seed Company.

Upon retirement, she had many interests including gardening (flowers and vegetables), raising African Violets, flower arranging, sewing, weaving, knitting, and tatting. She worked crossword puzzles and was a voracious reader.

Pearl was a member of the Landsdowne Garden Club and the St. Clair African Violet Club in East St. Louis, Ill. She was a also a member of the National African Violet Society and attended several conventions.

After moving to Belleville in 1971, she became a volunteer with RSVP and worked at various volunteer jobs.

Pearl was always eager to expand her horizons and learn something new. She strived to be the best in all she did. She will be truly missed.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 71 years, Frank "Jack" W. Ellis; her parents, Harvey Muskopf and Anna Muskopf-Radel, nee Riedel; her brothers, Homer Muskopf, Harvey Muskopf and George (Sonny) Radel; sisters, Violet Muskopf, Fern Moore, and Annette Schleicher; a daughter-in-law, Maria Mercia Ellis; and a grandson, Michael Scott Cecil.

Surviving are her son, Jack W. Ellis of Greenville, Ill.; her daughter, Virginia Cecil of Belleville, Ill.; grandchildren, Mike Jones, Cindy Miller, Patty Storer and Georgia Gorline; great and great-great grandchildren and a niece, Diane Moore of Palo, Alto, Calif.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials of Pearl's life be made to the Alzheimer's Association , The Belleville Humane Society or a charity of the donor's choice. Condolences may be offered online at www.lakeviewfuneralhm.com

Funeral: A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 9, 2011 at Lake View Funeral Home, Fairview Heights, Ill., with Rev. Drew Kramer officiating. Interment will be held privately in Lake View Memorial Gardens. Upon Pearl's request, cremation was to be held.