The hummingbirds have lost another treasured friend, but an ashtray sits waiting and a bottle of brandy opened, for on December 28, 2016 our beloved Ellen left this earth five days short of her 95th birthday to attend a heavenly cocktail party with her departed loved ones and pets. The source of loving light may be gone, but the warmth remains.
Ellen was born Elly Kluge in the German province of Silesia on January 2, 1922. She was the middle of three children born to Ernst and Selma (Ludewig) Kluge. The family included older brother Walter, and younger sister, Gerda. Ernst Kluge worked in a coal mine, Ellen considered herself the original "Coal Miner's Daughter." Ernst died suddenly in a cave-in, in 1931.
Ellen came of age during World War II and re-located to Berlin for career opportunities. There, she studied cooking and child care and eventually found employment as a nanny. In 1942, she moved to Vienna, Austria where she worked as a secretary in an investment firm. Due to ill health, she moved home near the war's end in 1945. That same year, prior to the Russian invasion, the family fled Silesia. They ended up in Bamberg, Germany where Selma Kluge passed in January, 1946.
In 1948, Ellen emigrated to the United States and eventually settled in Modesto. Gerda joined her in 1953. Ellen soon after married her husband, Dale Miner in 1956. In Modesto, Ellen and Dale owned and operated two successful restaurants. In the late 1950s, they ran The Office Lounge in the Hotel Hughson. Their most successful business was the King's Bench Cocktail Lounge which they operated for almost twenty years until selling it in 1975. She was an active member of the Order of Die Hermann Söhne German Club. Besides cooking and hard work, Ellen could be found enjoying her favorite past-times which ranged from dancing, to swimming or sunbathing at her treasured house on Edgebrook Drive. Ellen and Dale briefly lived in Tahoe and Sacramento in the 1980s before returning to Modesto for good prior to Dale's death in 1994.
Ellen will be deeply missed by her sister Gerda Beckstein and their cherished cat, Mitzi. She parts ways with her nephews Victor (Hermi) and Hans Joachim (Christina) Kluge of Germany and her cousins Barbara Ciuffo, her primary caregiver, and Karin Richardson as well as her Godchildren Stephen LeCouve and Linda Lowe. Ellen leaves her devoted best friend of 67 years, Margaret Shields, and her family who loved Ellen with all of their hearts. Besides her parents and husband, Ellen is preceded by her brother Walter (Charlotte) Kluge, her Aunt Charlotte Sussenbach, her dear friends of over 60 years Gretel Dzierla and Margunde (Edmund) Robinson, Richard Shields, and Ellen's long-time companion, Kenneth Headrick. Ellen had a great love of animals, and deeply missed her pets, dogs Gitte and Sparkle, and her pet monkey, Stinky.
Please join us in celebrating the life of our wonderful Ellen on Saturday January 7, 2017 at 1:00pm at the club house of the McHenry Mobile Manor located at 4125 McHenry Ave, Modesto. Eaton Family Funeral Home oversees arrangements, burial is private.
Ellen lived each day to the fullest. She never worried and enjoyed life. As she enters her heavenly cocktail party, she lights up the room with the sunshine in her smile. There she can have a cigarette and a "drinky stinky," as she called it. There she can make them laugh and feel special as she did on earth. This hummingbird is free. Ellen would not want people to mourn, but to celebrate. She lived by the motto, "Other people get mad, I say, to hell with it!" Ruhe in Frieden Liebe Ellen.
Ellen was born Elly Kluge in the German province of Silesia on January 2, 1922. She was the middle of three children born to Ernst and Selma (Ludewig) Kluge. The family included older brother Walter, and younger sister, Gerda. Ernst Kluge worked in a coal mine, Ellen considered herself the original "Coal Miner's Daughter." Ernst died suddenly in a cave-in, in 1931.
Ellen came of age during World War II and re-located to Berlin for career opportunities. There, she studied cooking and child care and eventually found employment as a nanny. In 1942, she moved to Vienna, Austria where she worked as a secretary in an investment firm. Due to ill health, she moved home near the war's end in 1945. That same year, prior to the Russian invasion, the family fled Silesia. They ended up in Bamberg, Germany where Selma Kluge passed in January, 1946.
In 1948, Ellen emigrated to the United States and eventually settled in Modesto. Gerda joined her in 1953. Ellen soon after married her husband, Dale Miner in 1956. In Modesto, Ellen and Dale owned and operated two successful restaurants. In the late 1950s, they ran The Office Lounge in the Hotel Hughson. Their most successful business was the King's Bench Cocktail Lounge which they operated for almost twenty years until selling it in 1975. She was an active member of the Order of Die Hermann Söhne German Club. Besides cooking and hard work, Ellen could be found enjoying her favorite past-times which ranged from dancing, to swimming or sunbathing at her treasured house on Edgebrook Drive. Ellen and Dale briefly lived in Tahoe and Sacramento in the 1980s before returning to Modesto for good prior to Dale's death in 1994.
Ellen will be deeply missed by her sister Gerda Beckstein and their cherished cat, Mitzi. She parts ways with her nephews Victor (Hermi) and Hans Joachim (Christina) Kluge of Germany and her cousins Barbara Ciuffo, her primary caregiver, and Karin Richardson as well as her Godchildren Stephen LeCouve and Linda Lowe. Ellen leaves her devoted best friend of 67 years, Margaret Shields, and her family who loved Ellen with all of their hearts. Besides her parents and husband, Ellen is preceded by her brother Walter (Charlotte) Kluge, her Aunt Charlotte Sussenbach, her dear friends of over 60 years Gretel Dzierla and Margunde (Edmund) Robinson, Richard Shields, and Ellen's long-time companion, Kenneth Headrick. Ellen had a great love of animals, and deeply missed her pets, dogs Gitte and Sparkle, and her pet monkey, Stinky.
Please join us in celebrating the life of our wonderful Ellen on Saturday January 7, 2017 at 1:00pm at the club house of the McHenry Mobile Manor located at 4125 McHenry Ave, Modesto. Eaton Family Funeral Home oversees arrangements, burial is private.
Ellen lived each day to the fullest. She never worried and enjoyed life. As she enters her heavenly cocktail party, she lights up the room with the sunshine in her smile. There she can have a cigarette and a "drinky stinky," as she called it. There she can make them laugh and feel special as she did on earth. This hummingbird is free. Ellen would not want people to mourn, but to celebrate. She lived by the motto, "Other people get mad, I say, to hell with it!" Ruhe in Frieden Liebe Ellen.
The hummingbirds have lost another treasured friend, but an ashtray sits waiting and a bottle of brandy opened, for on December 28, 2016 our beloved Ellen left this earth five days short of her 95th birthday to attend a heavenly cocktail party with her departed loved ones and pets. The source of loving light may be gone, but the warmth remains.
Ellen was born Elly Kluge in the German province of Silesia on January 2, 1922. She was the middle of three children born to Ernst and Selma (Ludewig) Kluge. The family included older brother Walter, and younger sister, Gerda. Ernst Kluge worked in a coal mine, Ellen considered herself the original "Coal Miner's Daughter." Ernst died suddenly in a cave-in, in 1931.
Ellen came of age during World War II and re-located to Berlin for career opportunities. There, she studied cooking and child care and eventually found employment as a nanny. In 1942, she moved to Vienna, Austria where she worked as a secretary in an investment firm. Due to ill health, she moved home near the war's end in 1945. That same year, prior to the Russian invasion, the family fled Silesia. They ended up in Bamberg, Germany where Selma Kluge passed in January, 1946.
In 1948, Ellen emigrated to the United States and eventually settled in Modesto. Gerda joined her in 1953. Ellen soon after married her husband, Dale Miner in 1956. In Modesto, Ellen and Dale owned and operated two successful restaurants. In the late 1950s, they ran The Office Lounge in the Hotel Hughson. Their most successful business was the King's Bench Cocktail Lounge which they operated for almost twenty years until selling it in 1975. She was an active member of the Order of Die Hermann Söhne German Club. Besides cooking and hard work, Ellen could be found enjoying her favorite past-times which ranged from dancing, to swimming or sunbathing at her treasured house on Edgebrook Drive. Ellen and Dale briefly lived in Tahoe and Sacramento in the 1980s before returning to Modesto for good prior to Dale's death in 1994.
Ellen will be deeply missed by her sister Gerda Beckstein and their cherished cat, Mitzi. She parts ways with her nephews Victor (Hermi) and Hans Joachim (Christina) Kluge of Germany and her cousins Barbara Ciuffo, her primary caregiver, and Karin Richardson as well as her Godchildren Stephen LeCouve and Linda Lowe. Ellen leaves her devoted best friend of 67 years, Margaret Shields, and her family who loved Ellen with all of their hearts. Besides her parents and husband, Ellen is preceded by her brother Walter (Charlotte) Kluge, her Aunt Charlotte Sussenbach, her dear friends of over 60 years Gretel Dzierla and Margunde (Edmund) Robinson, Richard Shields, and Ellen's long-time companion, Kenneth Headrick. Ellen had a great love of animals, and deeply missed her pets, dogs Gitte and Sparkle, and her pet monkey, Stinky.
Please join us in celebrating the life of our wonderful Ellen on Saturday January 7, 2017 at 1:00pm at the club house of the McHenry Mobile Manor located at 4125 McHenry Ave, Modesto. Eaton Family Funeral Home oversees arrangements, burial is private.
Ellen lived each day to the fullest. She never worried and enjoyed life. As she enters her heavenly cocktail party, she lights up the room with the sunshine in her smile. There she can have a cigarette and a "drinky stinky," as she called it. There she can make them laugh and feel special as she did on earth. This hummingbird is free. Ellen would not want people to mourn, but to celebrate. She lived by the motto, "Other people get mad, I say, to hell with it!" Ruhe in Frieden Liebe Ellen.
Ellen was born Elly Kluge in the German province of Silesia on January 2, 1922. She was the middle of three children born to Ernst and Selma (Ludewig) Kluge. The family included older brother Walter, and younger sister, Gerda. Ernst Kluge worked in a coal mine, Ellen considered herself the original "Coal Miner's Daughter." Ernst died suddenly in a cave-in, in 1931.
Ellen came of age during World War II and re-located to Berlin for career opportunities. There, she studied cooking and child care and eventually found employment as a nanny. In 1942, she moved to Vienna, Austria where she worked as a secretary in an investment firm. Due to ill health, she moved home near the war's end in 1945. That same year, prior to the Russian invasion, the family fled Silesia. They ended up in Bamberg, Germany where Selma Kluge passed in January, 1946.
In 1948, Ellen emigrated to the United States and eventually settled in Modesto. Gerda joined her in 1953. Ellen soon after married her husband, Dale Miner in 1956. In Modesto, Ellen and Dale owned and operated two successful restaurants. In the late 1950s, they ran The Office Lounge in the Hotel Hughson. Their most successful business was the King's Bench Cocktail Lounge which they operated for almost twenty years until selling it in 1975. She was an active member of the Order of Die Hermann Söhne German Club. Besides cooking and hard work, Ellen could be found enjoying her favorite past-times which ranged from dancing, to swimming or sunbathing at her treasured house on Edgebrook Drive. Ellen and Dale briefly lived in Tahoe and Sacramento in the 1980s before returning to Modesto for good prior to Dale's death in 1994.
Ellen will be deeply missed by her sister Gerda Beckstein and their cherished cat, Mitzi. She parts ways with her nephews Victor (Hermi) and Hans Joachim (Christina) Kluge of Germany and her cousins Barbara Ciuffo, her primary caregiver, and Karin Richardson as well as her Godchildren Stephen LeCouve and Linda Lowe. Ellen leaves her devoted best friend of 67 years, Margaret Shields, and her family who loved Ellen with all of their hearts. Besides her parents and husband, Ellen is preceded by her brother Walter (Charlotte) Kluge, her Aunt Charlotte Sussenbach, her dear friends of over 60 years Gretel Dzierla and Margunde (Edmund) Robinson, Richard Shields, and Ellen's long-time companion, Kenneth Headrick. Ellen had a great love of animals, and deeply missed her pets, dogs Gitte and Sparkle, and her pet monkey, Stinky.
Please join us in celebrating the life of our wonderful Ellen on Saturday January 7, 2017 at 1:00pm at the club house of the McHenry Mobile Manor located at 4125 McHenry Ave, Modesto. Eaton Family Funeral Home oversees arrangements, burial is private.
Ellen lived each day to the fullest. She never worried and enjoyed life. As she enters her heavenly cocktail party, she lights up the room with the sunshine in her smile. There she can have a cigarette and a "drinky stinky," as she called it. There she can make them laugh and feel special as she did on earth. This hummingbird is free. Ellen would not want people to mourn, but to celebrate. She lived by the motto, "Other people get mad, I say, to hell with it!" Ruhe in Frieden Liebe Ellen.
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