Elizabeth Ione Ellis

March 26, 1917-February 21, 2018 Del Mar.

Elizabeth Ione Bush Ellis was born at home on March 26, 1917 in the farming hamlet of Asbury, near Granite Falls, Minnesota, the daughter of Reuben William Bush and Hilda Olea Haugen Bush. Ione spent her youth in the rural countryside of Minnesota, helping with family chores, riding bicycles on country roads with her beloved younger sister Harriet and having the childhood she would later describe in many beautiful and engaging stories.

Ione graduated from Granite Falls High School and went on to graduate from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. She studied music and English. After college she taught music on the secondary level, first in Iowa and later in Duluth, Minnesota. She was an independent, professional woman for many years, and she was loved and appreciated by hundreds of students, taking a particular interest in students who came from humble backgrounds.

During a sabbatical from teaching, Ione served as a Lutheran Church parish worker in Sacramento, California. Coming to California was fortuitous. It was during this time, in January 1953, that Ione met the love of her life, Joseph W. Ellis, Jr., then a U.S. Marine Corp drill instructor in San Diego, while she was visiting Ensenada, Mexico with her sister Harriet and Harriet’s husband Chuck Medlin. After Joe finally succeeded in persuading Ione to be his wife, no small task, they married on September 29, 1953 in Granite Falls, Minnesota. After a cross-country honeymoon camping trip, they settled first in La Jolla and later in Solana Beach and Del Mar. Theirs was one of the world’s great romances, and they cherished and respected each other in a successful and happy marriage for 64 years. Their son, Reuben Joseph Ellis, was born in 1955. Ione was a caring and nurturing mother to her son, and she modeled for him integrity, good humor, gratitude to God, a love for the natural world, and an appreciation for the nuances and complexity of language.

After her marriage, Ione taught music privately, did volunteer work, and took an active role in her church, Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Encinitas, where she and Joe were long-time members. Ione was a committed Christian. She became well-known for the carefully crafted and thoughtful messages she wrote in the Christmas cards she designed each year. Ione continued her passion for fine music and good books and was a supportive partner to her husband in the founding and operation of Ellis Farms, Inc., a 400-acre wholesale nursery in Borrego Springs, California specializing in ornamental palms.

Ione delighted in life-long learning and creativity. One of her characteristic maxims was that “there is no excuse for boredom.” She was a warm, lively, intelligent, and loving person, and although the world is a little less interesting without her, that is still no excuse for boredom. Ione touched and influenced many people. Her beloved husband Joe preceded her in death by seven months. She is survived by her son, Reuben Ellis, her grandsons Isaac Ellis and Daniel Ellis, her granddaughter Emerson Ellis, her great-granddaughter Aven Elizabeth Juniper Ellis and a niece and nephew. Ione is loved, missed, and remembered.

Memorial donations may be made to Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 925 Balour Dr, Encinitas, CA 92024 or to the Salvation Army.