Frieda D. Ellis

Frieda D. Ellis, 95, of Seneca, IL, died Saturday, March 9, 2013, at the Morris Hospital. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, March 14, 2013, at St. Patrick's Church of Seneca with Rev. Ray Guthrie officiating. Burial will be at Mount Calvary Cemetery, also in Seneca. The family will greet friends at St. Patrick's Church in Seneca from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Thursday. Arrangements are being handled by the Osborne-Nelson Funeral Home of Seneca. Frieda was born May 25, 1917, in Breiholz, Germany, to Peter and Margharita (Thode) Reimer. She grew up in Chamberlain, South Dakota after coming to the US when she was four years old. After high school, she met Norbert Ellis in Seattle, Washington and they were married in Seneca, Illinois, on June 27, 1944. They returned to Seneca in 1945 upon Norbert's fathers' death, so he could run the family hardware store. Frieda received the "Golden Key to the Village of Seneca" in 1997 during the hardware store's 125th Anniversary for her years of dedicated leadership and contributions to the village of Seneca. Frieda also received the Golden Hammer Award in 2001 for having been in the hardware business for over 50 years. She worked into her 90's paying the bills and doing the bookwork until her retirement in 2008. She was a member of St. Patrick's Church in Seneca and the Midwest Hardware Association She is survived by her two sons, John (Sandra) and David (Jenny) Ellis, both of Seneca; one brother, Ralph Reimer; a sister, Darlene (Robert) Struble; and a sister-in-law, Mary Frances Reimer, all of Chamberlain, South Dakota; her grandchildren, Kathryn (Gerald) Baker, Daniel (Vicki) Ellis, Tracy (Kara) Ellis, Sara (Sylvan) Olson, and Michael Ellis; twelve great-grandchildren, all of Seneca; and her nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Norbert in 1953; her parents; her stepmother, Dora Reimer; two sisters, Kate Mrkvicka and Anna Guthrie; two brothers, William and Henry Reimer; and her brother-in-law, Monsignor John Tracy Ellis. Pallbearers will be Gerald and Sean Baker, Dan, Tracy and Michael Ellis, and Sylvan Olson. Memorials may be directed to St. Patrick's Church in Seneca. The online guestbook may be viewed and remembrances shared at www.ottawafuneralhome.com. Osborne-Nelson Funeral Home 135 E. Lincoln St., Seneca, IL 61360 815-357-6172 www.ottawafuneralhome.com