Ellen D. Hart

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our beloved mother, grandmother, sister and friend, Ellen D. Hart. Ellen passed away at 78 years-old on Thursday, November 30, 2023 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, New York.

Born on July 16, 1945 in Brooklyn, NY, she was the daughter of the late Edward J. Drum, Jr. and Sheila F. McCarthy Drum.

Ellen was raised in Little Neck (Long Island), NY and re-located to Rockland County (Suffern, NY) with her husband in 1971. She was a graduate of Our Lady of Mercy Academy high school in Syosset, NY. Ellen attended Marymount Manhattan College and earned her degree in fine arts. She later returned to school to pursue a Master’s Degree in Early Elementary Education at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkhill.

In June of 1973, Ellen married her husband, Glenn A. Hart, at the chapel at Princeton University in Princeton, NJ. Glenn predeceased her in January of 1992. After so many years apart, it helps lessen our grief to know that they are finally reunited.

Her entire life was based around her family. Ellen helped her husband run and grow his computer consulting business. She also spent as much time as she could with her two children. Ellen was on the executive board of the YMCA in Suffern, she was involved in the PTA at her children’s schools, and she was a Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader for many years. Ellen used to say she was a “taxi driver”, since she was always happily driving her kids to all of their extracurricular activities. Simply said, she loved being a mother. So many of her children’s friends adored Ellen and her house was where every child knew they would be welcomed and loved. There was always a group of kids somewhere in the house, often chatting with Ellen in the kitchen while she cooked delicious homemade meals.

As her children grew older, Ellen was a substitute elementary school teacher in the East Ramapo School District. Once she retired, she was a private home health aide and helped care for many seniors in Rockland County.

Ellen’s Catholic faith was extremely important to her. She was a parishioner at Presentation Church in Upper Saddle River for many years, where she was involved in numerous ministries.

In addition to spending time with her family, Ellen enjoyed reading, cooking, playing cards (especially Solitaire, which she played online), and watching suspense/crime shows on TV. Ellen was a wonderful storyteller and would tell anyone and everyone in-depth stories, which often revolved around her siblings and all the shenanigans they would pull, especially in Shelter Island, NY, where the family spent their summers as she grew up. More recently, she would tell stories of her first grandchild, Madeline, whom she called her “baby girl”. She adored Maddy more than anything in this world, and even while sick in the hospital, she needed to speak to her granddaughter daily.

Ellen had a heart of gold. Everyone that met her felt her nurturing, kind, and loving spirit. She was the type of woman that people instantly remembered. Even when she was sick and often in pain, Ellen always wanted to make people laugh and smile. It’s comforting to our family that so many will miss her and remember her.

Ellen is survived by her daughter, Sarah Levine; son, Gregory Hart, and his wife, Brittany; grandchildren, Madeline Levine and William Hart; sister, Susan Krall, and her husband, Rick; brothers, John Drum, and Jerry Drum, and his wife, Lee; and five nieces (Jennifer, Katharine, Monica, Eve, and Camille.) Ellen considered her best friend, Mary Ann Walter, like a sister and member of our family, as they shared such a very special bond.

In addition to her parents and her husband, Ellen is predeceased by her younger sister, Sheila Patricia Drum.

In keeping with Ellen’s wishes, cremation has taken place. There are no calling hours. A private celebration of life with her family will take place at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, Ellen's family respectfully requests donations to The National Kidney Foundation, 30 East 33rd Street, New York, NY 10016 (800-622-9010; www.kidney.org) or to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105 (800-822-6344; www.stjude.org).

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