Ellen Christine Morrison

Ellen Morrison died peacefully in Fresno at sunrise on Friday, May 20th, 2011. She was 94. Ellen Christine Beck Morrison was born in Kerman, California on December 1, 1916 to her Danish immigrant parents J.P.I. Ingvard Beck and Mary Hansen Beck. Ellen grew up with her three sisters Anna Rasmussen, Laura Jensen and Norma Butzlaff in the Kerman area, first on Clinton Ave., until moving to the Madera Avenue family farm surround by well groomed vineyards. This home would be the gathering place for family and friends for many years to come, where the coffee, sandwiches and pastries were always ready. From the time of her youth, she and her family were members of Bethel Lutheran Church, in Fresno, where she formed many deep, rich and lasting friendships and relationships.

Ellen attended Empire School and graduated from Kerman High School in 1933, where she was known as the school artist and had the leading role in the senior play. Ellen learned to design, sew and tailor clothing when she was a young girl and practiced her skill artfully and stylishly for her entire life. She was a college graduate, with her first two years at Fresno State College until she transferred and graduated from 4C's business college. After college she took a position at the Gerald Thomas Advertising Agency where she was an administrative assistant and creative specialist writing print and broadcasting copy. Ellen continued to write copy free-lance for Fresno area radio and T.V. stations for many years.

In 1936 Ellen married Paul R. Morrison, now retired from PG&E Management and the Paul R. Morrison Architectural Drafting Services Inc. They have two sons Robert and William. Once married, Ellen was a busy homemaker, caring wife, mother and daughter, but never stopped her active creative and community work. She has always been the person who people would come to when they needed a skit, a speech, or a poem written or a poster or costume designed for a special event. Ellen was fun loving and gregarious, modest and loving. She was inventive, witty and had a great sense of humor. She enjoyed dressing stylishly and staying in good shape. She was athletic and disciplined. She loved to swim and was accomplished at golf. As a couple Paul and Ellen Morrison have always been known in all of their circles of friends as great dancers.

Ellen was an energetic and generous person who often volunteered for church and community organizations. She sang in the Bethel Lutheran Church choir for twenty-five years. She loved to sing and played both piano and organ. For many years Ellen sponsored Luther League, the church youth group and brought many fun hours to the Bethel young people including parties, special events and trips, talent shows and hilarious skits. She also worked on the church quilter's circle to make comforters for needy people. Ellen was a Cub Scout Den Mother for both of her sons. In the 1980's she taught English as a Second Language at night classes for Cambodian immigrants at Fresno High School.

Ellen had many interests and a particular passion for everything Danish. In her sixties she enrolled in Danish classes to brush-up on her Danish language abilities where she excelled at writing and conversation. Then she and Paul traveled across Europe and stayed in Denmark for a while to meet and visit Beck family relatives and for her to practice her Danish. She was an active member of the Dana Danish Lodge, and the Danish Sisterhood.

Ellen loved to write short stories and poetry. For most of the past decade she was a participating member of the Chaparral Poetry Group. Until very recently she was still using her computer to create new poems and memoirs.

In 1966 Ellen and Paul built a new home in Fig Garden near Van Ness Extension. Ellen loved their home and was able to live there until the last seven months of her life when she required skilled nursing rehabilitation after complications from a fall and resided at the Alzheimer's Living and Rehab Center at Elim for four months and then moved to Somerford Place, Alzheimer's Assisted Living, located very close to their home in the same Fig Garden neighborhood.

Ellen is survived by her youngest sister, Norma Butzlaff, of Glendale, California; husband, Paul R. Morrison and their two sons, Robert J. Morrison of Reno, Nevada, and William A. Morrison of San Francisco; five grandchildren including grandsons: Jens Morrison, and Roderick Morrison of Reno, Nevada and Paul H. Morrison of San Francisco, and granddaughters, Lindsay L. Morrison of West Hollywood and Jenniferanne Morrison of Reno Nevada; and three great-grandchildren, Ansel Morrison and Nora Morrison of Reno, Nevada and Tyce Morrison of San Francisco.