Ellen Embury Ray
DENVER - Ellen Embury Ray, 88 years old, passed away on June 7, 2022, in Denver, Colorado, after a long illness. Ellen Belle Embury was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on September 4, 1933, to Isabelle Katherine (Frandsen) Embury and Maj. General Gilbert William Embury, a descendent of Philip Embury (the first Methodist preacher in America) and recipient of, inter alia, the Legion of Merit. In 1957, Ellen married the love of her life, Charles Clark Ray of Wauwatosa, WI, who preceded her in death in 2016.
Ellen and her two brothers and one sister spent their childhood and the war years living with their mother in Shorewood, Wisconsin, while their father served overseas in Europe. Ellen attended Shorewood High School and Milwaukee Downer College. Her married life with Charles was an adventurous partnership spanning states, continents and decades in Denver, CO; Milwaukee, WI; Palos Verdes, CA; Summit, NJ; Mequon, WI; and Flat Rock, NC. Throughout these several relocations, Ellen was a traditional housewife who “managed it all” while raising their four children: Eric Ray; Elizabeth Ray; Katherine (Ray) Chang; and Sophia (Ray) Johnson. She adored being a mother and spoiled her children to pieces. She would go on to do the same for her grandchildren.
Among her many talents, Ellen was a fine seamstress who made custom wardrobes for Barbie and Ken, much to her daughters’ delight. She was a member of the bowling league in Thiensville, WI; and she played tennis at Mequon Racket Club in the 1980s. She loved sketching and drawing, and she took pleasure in helping her children to create picture books and old-fashioned dioramas for school projects. Her favourite pastime – aside from listening to Elvis Presley songs - was reading. She tore through books at lightning speed, especially enjoying narrative fiction centered on American and European life during WWII, perhaps to remind her of her own childhood.
Ellen’s oft-repeated maxim, “Kindness is to do and say the kindest things in the kindest way,” influenced how she lived her life. She gave tirelessly of herself to her family and her children’s endeavours, and she was the primary caregiver for Charles at the end of his life. Throughout, all she ever asked for was an hour a day to read her beloved books and a comfortable couch on which to read them.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her brother Philip Embury (Las Cruces, NM); and her sister Daisy (Embury) Rose (Ft. Worth, TX). She is survived by her brother William Embury (Tucson, AZ); her four children; and eight grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in Ellen’s name to The Denver Hospice, whose staff and services provided guidance and profound comfort to Ellen and her family throughout the past year.