Mary Jane Ellis, 88

Mary Jane Ellis, 88, formerly of Gentryville, passed away Sunday, November 7th, 2015, at the Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Oakland City.

Mary Jane (Neville) Ellis was born April 28th, 1927 in Grandview to Jerome and Mamie (Beidenkopf) Neville. They would later move to Lincoln State Park where her father worked for the CCC.

Mary Jane had many fond memories of growing up in Lincoln State Park with her sisters and walking to school in Lincoln City. They would later move to a farm northeast of Buffaloville, now part of Christmas Lake Village. While living on the farm, she would attend Buffaloville School and went to the United Methodist Church at Santa Claus Camp Ground.

She graduated from Dale High School in 1944. Shortly after graduation she started working for General Electric in Huntingburg. While still living at home she would meet her husband to be Roy Lee Ellis in 1948.

They would later be married on May 9, 1950. After getting married they lived in Gentryville for a short time and then briefly moved to Spencer where Roy Lee was employed as a mechanic. Mary Jane worked at RCA Victor in Bloomington during that time.

They later moved back to Gentryville and had three children Richard, Vickie and Howard. She worked at General Electric in Huntingburg and Tell City and retired from there in 1987 after 43 years of service.

For many years after her retirement, she enjoyed eating out and playing Yahtzee with long time friend June Crews. She enjoyed taking care of her grandkids in their younger years when they would come to stay. One of her most memorable vacations was when she went to Fairbanks, Alaska to visit her daughter Vickie and Charlie Engler.

Jane was preceded in death by her husband Roy Lee Ellis on May 6, 1969; father and mother, Jerome B and Mamie (Beidenkopf) Neville and inlaws, Charles Rufus and Beulah (Roos) Ellis.

Jane is survived by her three children, Richard Ellis of Oakland City, Vickie and Charlie Engler of Evansville and Howard and Sharon Ellis of Evansville. Three sisters Catherine Shelton of Mt. Carmel, IL, Betty Kaetzel of Santa Claus, Alice Guth of Evansville and one brother Frank and (Linda) Neville of Newburgh; sister-in-law, Frieda Ellis of Gentryville and Ila-Jean Reinke of Dale; four grandchildren, Dan and Melissa Engler, Joe and Jen Engler of Evansville, Hayley Ellis of Huntingburg and Steven Ellis of Oakland City; six great-grandchildren, twins Caroline and Sophie, Bennett, Logan and Micah Engler of Evansville and Kerrigan Ellis of Huntingburg; six nieces and nine nephews.

Services will be Thursday, November 12th at 10:00 a.m. CST at the Gentryville United Methodist Church with burial to follow in the Garden of Memory Cemetery.

Visitation will be from Wednesday, November 11th from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m. CST at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Gentryville United Methodist Church or the Alzheimer’s Assoc.

Fuller Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.