Ellen Camberne Chambers, Mingyur Chökyi Ösel Rinpoche, 74, passed away in Anchorage on February 15, 2025.

She was fiercely independent, traveled widely around the world, and rarely settled in one place for long. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, October 8, 1950, Ellen called many places home throughout her life, including Alaska, Massachusetts, Montana, Minnesota, and Vermont. Although she enjoyed and lived in cities, she more often preferred rustic settings and built a few cabins in the woods over the years. For long stretches she went off grid and didn’t mind hauling wood and water to maintain solitude. Ellen always loved being on or near the water and once kayaked from Bishop’s Beach to Seldovia. She bonded closely with dogs and cats her whole life, and grew large gardens for food and flowers when she had the space and time.

Ellen graduated from Hopkins/Day Prospect Hill School in 1968, Beloit College and Eastern Michigan University in 1972, Howard University College of Medicine with a Physician’s Assistant degree in 1982, and New England School of Acupuncture in 1985, and she received a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 2004.

Art making was a central part of her life, and she worked in clay, textile, watercolor, paint, and collage, exhibiting in solo and group shows around the country. In 2013 and 2014 she was artist in residence at the Lucid Art Foundation in Inverness, CA.

She was also a devoted practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism and traveled through India, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Tibet, and Mongolia as part of that journey.

She first moved to Homer in 1992 and lived there on and off for 30+ years, working as an acupuncturist and Buddhist teacher.

Ellen had a full life with countless adventures and unexpected twists. Her insightful grasp of language and sharp, observant sense of humor will not be forgotten. She touched and inspired a great many people and made deep connections with others throughout her life. In addition to her dear friends, she is survived by her sister, Sarah Chambers, brother, Andrew Chambers, sister-in-law Donna Chambers, three sons, William Chambers, Ben Chambers, Abraham Schroeder, and six grandchildren.

There will be a memorial gathering on the beach in Homer later this spring.

Donations can be made to Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic, https://kbfpc.org/ and the Tibetan Nuns Project, https://tnp.org/.