Ellen L. Grouws

April 5, 1945-Nov. 3, 2016

Ellen Lorraine Grouws, 71, loving wife, mother, sister, aunt and grandmother, was born April 5, 1945, and died peacefully on Nov. 3, 2016.

Ellen was born April 5, 1945, in Lowell, Mass., to Arne and Thelma Murto. Her family headed for Alaska at an early age where she grew up on a homestead with her parents and seven sisters: Pauline, Marjorie, Virginia, Norma, Marianne, Linda and Ingrid. She met and married her husband of 53 years, Charles, in Anchorage. They moved to Seattle where they lived for the past 50 years and raised two boys.

Ellen will always be remembered as a kind and caring person who enjoyed traveling, music, and spending time with family and friends.

Ellen was proceeded in death by her mother, father, and one sister.

She is survived by her husband, Charles; sons, Steven (Traci) and Ryan (Kristi); three grandsons, Collin, Kyle, and Evan; one granddaughter, Annelise; six sisters, and many nephews and nieces.

There will be no public service. Instead, we will be asking friends and family to join us for a celebration of Ellen’s life this April.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests remembrances be made to the Alzheimer’s Association Washington State Chapter. For more information, visit www.alz.org/alzwa.