Obituary of Eleanor Ockenfels
Eleanor "Ellie" Ockenfels, a former Delhi resident, died June 27, 2014, in El Cerrito, California.
Born May 16, 1924, in Syracuse, to Alfred T. Gulliver and Mora B. Spade, Ellie grew up in Marcellus, and graduated in the Class of 1942 from Marcellus High School. After attending Potsdam State Teachers College, she began a career teaching elementary school in Long Island, and married George W. Ockenfels, Jr., on August 2, 1947. Ellie was then quickly occupied with raising a large family of five children, beginning in New York State, moving to Ohio and eventually settling down in Ramsey, NJ.
As the kids grew up, Ellie enjoyed preparing for and going on long road trips to Baxter State Park in Maine, where the family spent their summer vacations several years in a row, and many alongside dear friends, the Beaches, and their family. Back home, she also served happily as Activities Director for 13 years at Allendale Nursing Home in Allendale, NJ.
After the nest was empty, Ellie then moved to Delhi, where she was an active member of the United Ministry and continued to do volunteer work. Enjoying many years of retirement with "Ocky" at "the farm" on Glen Burnie Road, where she loved lending her touch to restoring and decorating their turn-of-the-century federal-style farm home, and relaxing with family and friends. She also thoroughly enjoyed hiking their acreage, picking berries, and baking and canning all kinds of fruit and garden veggies. Throughout her life, Ellie was actually quite well-known for her holiday fruitcake too, where production often if not always consumed the Ockenfels kitchen(s) for many festive days, year after year.
After Ocky passed away, in 1994, Ellie then moved full-time to the, warm Desert Southwest, where they had already owned a small villa and visited as annual "snow birds," in Green Valley, AZ. Ellie eventually upgraded to her own beautiful townhome, where she found much joy in spending time with family, cherished friends and neighbors, and worked as a proud volunteer in the furniture sales dept. at the renowned White Elephant Shop. For her last six years in Arizona, Ellie lived in Tucson at Broadway Proper Retirement Community, for assisted care and to live closer to her daughter, Jude. She also made many beloved friends there, and—as she did throughout her entire life as a spirited and very talented piano player—shared her gift and love of music with many. Ellie brought much joy as a "cheer volunteer" through regular sing-alongs in numerous senior centers and nursing homes in New Jersey, New York State, Arizona and finally in California.
Ellie had just celebrated her 90th birthday only a month before she died peacefully on June 27, 2014 in El Cerritos, California, where she lived for nearly the last two years of her life. Anyone who knew Ellie knows she never gave up anything without a good fight, and while her decline from health was long and challenging, her children were very attentive and took excellent care of her alongside hospice staff. She was very much loved by family, friends and caregivers, and lived a long and good life.
Surviving are five children: James W. Ockenfels of Delhi, NY; Marty Jaye and spouse, Chaz Kussoy, of San Francisco, CA; Bill Ashbury of San Francisco, CA; Vera S. Ockenfels and husband, John Bogren of Berkeley, CA; and Jude Ockenfels of Tucson, AZ; along with sister-in-law Iva Jean Cavanaugh, and many nieces and nephews, as well as grand and great-grand nieces and nephews.
While Ellie chose not to have a "formal" life celebration ceremony, she wanted her children, extended family and friends to celebrate her life in a joyous manner of their choosing (though we suspect that would include lots of her favorite happy tunes :). In lieu of flowers, Ellie asked that donations be given to Alameda County Community Food Bank (www.accfb.org) or the Red Cross (www.redcross.org).
