Sarah Ruth Ellison

On April 1, 1924, a little girl named Sarah Ruth Harbin came into the world. On that day, it would have been impossible to know what a strong force such a tiny little girl would become and the impact she would have in so many lives over the next 98 years. Graveside Service will be held, Sunday, December 18, 2022 at 2pm at the Macedonia Memorial Park. There will be no visitation and friends are asked to meet at the cemetery. Early in her childhood, while others her age were playing and growing up, she grew up faster than most, losing her mother when she was only 8 years old. Most girls her age were playing mom to dolls, but she invested her heart and her time into looking after and caring the best she could for her four younger siblings. Her daddy remarried when she was 10, and Sarah Ruth’s new step mom took all of them under her wing and once again, she could return to being the oldest child. Years later she met and married E.W. Ellison, and had two children, Larry and Susan. As lives are lived, and days and years unfold, new people enter our families, they grow, and they change, and the stories woven together create a beautiful family tree. Seasons change the size, shape, and color of the tree, but the love that holds it together and nourishes it remains steady. Grandmother loved her family. It was the central theme of her life. Up until her most recently celebrated 98th birthday, you could still see the pure joy and excitement as she looked at her gifts and her cards, finding something special to say about each one. She loved celebrations. Holidays she hosted will never be forgotten, the dishes she served from, her famous recipes she just knew by heart (in particular her dressing), her pound cake, which called for an entire dozen eggs, that she lovingly made for others although she couldn’t eat it herself having an allergy to the eggs. We remember her Christmas tree gilded in gold, her conservative and elegant style of clothing, her jewelry, and her lipstick. When life got tough, you would never know it from her presentation. She was styling through life, the good and the tough, and she did it every day with every one of her family members in her heart and in her prayers. She believed in God. She lived long enough and through enough to confidently share how He had woven His love, forgiveness, protection and provision through her life. If you knew her – you can rest assured that your name came through her lips as she lifted you up in her prayers. Thomas Wilder said, “It’s hard to turn the page when you know someone won’t be in the next chapter, but the story must go on.” Ninety eight years of life contains a lot of chapters. With those chapters have come happiness and sadness, gain and loss, laughter and tears. Rest assured as we celebrate her life and legacy, our greatest honor is to know we got to be in one of her chapters. If we could read her forward, it would remind us that as we navigate the chapters, we must remain strong and never give up, in life, or on each other. If we could read her conclusion, she would remind us that God is real, God is love, and that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, and that whoever believes in Him, shall have everlasting life.” She celebrates her first Christmas in Heaven, with her Savior, and with those who have gone before us. She was predeceased by her parents, her siblings Ed, Frank, Louise and Bob, her husband of 67 years E.W. Ellison, her son Larry Ellison and her son-in-law Richard Gresham. She is survived by her daughter Susan Gresham, her daughter-in-law Debbie Ellison, her grandchildren Jeff Ellison, Lisa (Mike) Lutz, Michelle (Rehman) Sewani, Mark (Karen) Gresham, Melanie Gresham, Jennifer (Paul) Gentile; 8 great grand children; 8 great great grandchildren; her sister-in-law Lanette Harbin; several nieces and one nephew.

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Sarah Ruth Ellison

April 1, 1924 - December 12, 2022