Diane Marie Ellison passed away with dignity on Aug. 22, 2016 at the age of 75 years, after a courageous battle with Alzheimer’s.
Born in Aberdeen, Wash., June 18, 1941, Diane grew up in the Wishkah Valley and was proud of her heritage and being raised next door to her grandparent’s Robert and Marie Ellison’s home and farm. The daughter of loving parents Russell Mathis and Syster Constance (Edlund) Ellison; she treasured the outdoors: enjoyed walking the woods, riding her horses, target shooting with her dad and perfecting the art and sport of log rolling as a young girl. One of the things she loved most was fishing with her childhood buddies at their favorite fishing hole, “Perkin’s Eddy” of the Wishkah River. But when she wasn’t catching fish she was rolling the log under the tutelage of her father and later traveling around the country and Canada working the log rolling circuit and winning competitions and earning the title of World’s Champion Logroller. Diane treasured her life growing up “out the Wishkah” and often spoke of her “love of the land”.
As a youth, Diane exuded a competitive energy and spirit which she carried throughout her life. She would tell her children to “always reach for the sky”, a metaphor and a technique her father taught her when falling in the water. She loved learning and said she was a “constant student” first graduating from Aberdeen Weather Wax HS in 1959, she then attended the University of Washington graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology. Later when her kids were older in school she continued her studies and retained a Teaching Certification through the University California Irvine. That didn’t stop her there she was very proud of her Graduate Studies at Chapman University receiving a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management and Development and Alcohol/Drug Studies Program in which she became an adjunct professor at Grays Harbor Community College enjoying the classroom discussions and teaching her students.
As a fifth generation small woodlot owner, Diane knew the relationship between the people and the land. Growing up in a logging family, she watched the timber industry change. She decided she wanted to use her public persona and education together and work to build relationships for a new future for the families on the Harbor. She wanted to get involved in community service and she did by volunteering her time serving on boards and working on local projects in the area. She focused her efforts on bringing monies in for Economic Development, Natural Resources, Education, and historic preservation and eventually, at the height of her career, she was elected as a Grays Harbor County PUD Commissioner.
Diane was preceded in death by her mother and father and is survived by her children, Dawn M. Rowe (Thomas), and Robert E. Rowe, and her three beautiful grandchildren, Robert, Kathryn and Regan.
A Celebration of Diane’s Life has been scheduled on Oct. 28, at 11 a.m. in the Montesano Church of God located at 317 E Spruce Ave, Montesano, WA 98563. Twibell’s Fern Hill Funeral Home in Aberdeen, Wash. Please share your fond memories of Diane online at www.fernhillfuneral.com.
Donations may be made at PAWS of Grays Harbor, 800 W 1st St, Aberdeen, WA 98520 or to the Alzheimer’s Association at Alz.org.
