Ellen Louise Harmsen, 95, of rural Wabash, Indiana, died at 10:39 am, Tuesday, January 9, 2024, at Parkview Wabash Hospital. She was born on April 5, 1928, in Wichita, Kansas, to Maurice M. and Leah (Bethel) Buck.
Ellen was a 1946 graduate of Cleveland High School, and a graduate of Central Missouri State Teachers College. She married William R. Harmsen in St. Louis, Missouri on June 3, 1950; he died December 17, 1999. She was a homemaker and also worked as a Kindergarten teacher. Ellen was a member of the Wabash Friends Church. She also was a member of the P.E.O Sisterhood and the Wabash Art Guild. She won Best of Show in the Wabash Guild Art Show at the Honeywell Center. Ellen was a quilter and a watercolor artist, and she was extremely crafty and artistic. Ellen lived in Anderson, Indiana from 1952-2001, where she was very active in service and social organizations, before moving to Wabash. Ellen was an endearing combination of Pollyanna and Shirley Temple. This loving and lovable attitude made more than one person ask if she could adopt them. One of her great gifts was her ability to see beauty in her surroundings, not only when creating art, but in seeing the very best in those that she loved. She had a story or a song for every situation and loved being able to offer from her gathered wealth of knowledge.
She is survived by three children, Beth (Kenneth) Perkins and William “Bill” Harmsen, both of Wabash, and Brian (Shelly) Harmsen of Republic, Missouri; five grandchildren, Martin (Tatiana) Perkins, Rachel (Eric) Dale, and Emily Perkins, all of Wabash, Jessica Gibson of Duenweg, Missouri, and Jordan (Ryan) Powell of Battlefield, Missouri; and nine great grandchildren. She was also preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Theodore Buck.
Funeral services will be 10:30 am, Friday, January 12, 2024, at Grandstaff-Hentgen Funeral Service, 1241 Manchester Avenue, Wabash, with David Phillips officiating. Friends may call 9-10:30 am Friday, at the funeral home. Burial will be in Maplewood Cemetery, Anderson with a graveside service at 1:30pm on Friday.
Preferred memorial is the charity of the donor’s choice.
The memorial guest book for Ellen may be signed at www.grandstaff-hentgen.com.
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