Dear colleagues,
On September 29, 2025, my former spouse, Ellen Travis Addington, completed her life journey. Ellen had been cared for in the memory care unit of Brookdale in Glendale AZ for just over 1 year; prior to that she was cared for by her daughter, Kathleen. She was dealing with the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Ellen was born in Safford, Arizona and raised in Cottonwood, Arizona, a section of the state known as the Verde Valley. Her mother was a teacher and a talented artist, who became very active in teaching Native American children and adults to read and write, when someone made the mistake of telling her that they were “stupid and could not be taught”. Her father was a Civil Engineer who was involved in the mapping and layout of the streets in Phoenix. He was also involved the design of Boulder Dam (later named Hoover Dam). In Cottonwood he was a small-town newspaper man and printer. Ellen and I met at Arizona State University in Tempe. I was privileged to be her marriage partner for eighteen years. We brought three incredible human beings into this world: Kathleen Deborah, James Robert (both residents of Glendale) and Daniel E.M. (he and spouse, Cindy, reside in Washington state).
We knew Ellen as an incredibly gifted artist - accomplished in acrylics, oils, water colors and alcohol ink – skilled in culinary arts, a seamstress, quilter and able administrator. She was a Vista volunteer and volunteered at a local art gallery, occasionally teaching art classes and assisting budding artists.
Shortly after we joined the Order in January 1965, she was assigned to manage the Ecumenical Institute kitchen, an especially challenging assignment given the multitude of on- campus seminars E.I. sponsored at the time. This assignment enhanced her administrative skills and prepared her to manage the kitchen for Grady Gammage Hospital in Atlanta during our time as part of the “troika” of the Atlanta Religious House in 1968-69.
In subsequent assignments she worked as an office administrator; first for a French lawyer in Washington D.C., then in Montreal Canada and Sydney Australia. Following our time in the Sydney House, Ellen was part of the priorship team of the Manila Religious House. She was a very able pedagogue and group facilitator. We were part of the team that did the second research and training tour of Latin America in 1968. We were also part of the ICA team that conducted the first International Training Institute in Nigeria in 1976; then, shortly afterward she was involved in the initiation of the Ijede Human Development Project. She also served in the Delta Pace Human Development Project, prior to being assigned to the Phoenix Religious House.
Ellen left the Phoenix House in 1981, but remained in the Phoenix area until her death (except for a brief sojourn in southern California). She worked many years in typesetting, computer graphics and prepress production, becoming skilled with information technology. She is survived by her three children, two granddaughters (Sarah Elizabeth and Emily Victoria, residents of Washington state) and sister-in-law, Louise Addington.
Peace,
James Addington
