Born on June 27, 1946 in Des Moines Iowa. Her parents were Lawrence Strother and Lela Strother (DeSouza). Her siblings include three brothers, Luis, Larry and Ken, along with three sisters, Lita, Lori and June. After a yearlong battle with Lymphoma cancer Ellen passed away on December the 6th 2019 at the age of 73. She had been in the hospital near death five months earlier, but miraculously survived and was able to spend her last days at home finding peace with her faith and her condition.
During her youth Ellen moved several times, as Navy families do, and then in 1967 she moved from Hutchinson Kansas to Ventura California. It was there she later met her future husband Dan Bitner through waitressing at a restaurant he frequented. On January 30, 1971 Dan and Ellen were married at a Lutheran Church in Bell Calif.
They began their life together living in Downey, but soon moved to Anaheim, where they lived until moving to Carlsbad, their current home, in 1984. Their two sons Sean and Aaron were the center of Ellen’s life, be it birthdays, providing rides to or helping out with football, baseball, track, soccer, RC car racing or skateboard activities. She enjoyed being a stay at home Mom and helping as a volunteer at school; later she did join the school staff as a Food Service worker (a.k.a. Lunch Lady) and worked there for 10 years until her retirement in 2012.
Ellen loved craft work and was accomplished at Knitting, Crocheting, Needle Point and dabbled a bit in Collagraphy. She also appreciated more active hobbies like playing Parks and Rec softball, overseas travel, participating in a Bunco dice game group, or going camping at Clear Lake with her sister Lita. Other activities included leading a Church Growth Group and attending a monthly Bible study with her husband. Ellen never hesitated when presented with a challenge, so when her husband Dan proposed buying some land in the mountains and building a cabin, she was all in. Other than the concrete foundation and the shingles on the roof, the log cabin was built by family and friends on weekends and vacations over a period of three years. Ellen always made sure the people helping were fed, and when needed she also helped with cutting wood and other tasks to maintain the progress.
Mostly Ellen liked doing things for the family, like inviting up to 20+ people for Thanksgiving in Idyllwild every year since 1988 when the cabin was completed. Other big events Ellen hosted at their home in Carlsbad were Christmas and Easter. She was a stickler for detail and always went that extra mile to make sure everyone was being taken care of. You can be sure that those who could make these events each year always did. Ellen also used her energy and her serving skills in support of her Church family at Redeemer by the Sea, where she became a key partner in all things related to hospitality.
Ellen is survived by her husband Dan, her son Sean and his wife Janice, Granddaughters Mariana and Audrey, as well as her brothers Louis and his wife Teresa, Larry and his wife Sharon, Ken, her sisters Lita and husband Jim, Lorri, June and husband Brian. She is preceded in death by her father Lawrence and her youngest son Aaron, who died in an accident in 2002 at age 27.
During her youth Ellen moved several times, as Navy families do, and then in 1967 she moved from Hutchinson Kansas to Ventura California. It was there she later met her future husband Dan Bitner through waitressing at a restaurant he frequented. On January 30, 1971 Dan and Ellen were married at a Lutheran Church in Bell Calif.
They began their life together living in Downey, but soon moved to Anaheim, where they lived until moving to Carlsbad, their current home, in 1984. Their two sons Sean and Aaron were the center of Ellen’s life, be it birthdays, providing rides to or helping out with football, baseball, track, soccer, RC car racing or skateboard activities. She enjoyed being a stay at home Mom and helping as a volunteer at school; later she did join the school staff as a Food Service worker (a.k.a. Lunch Lady) and worked there for 10 years until her retirement in 2012.
Ellen loved craft work and was accomplished at Knitting, Crocheting, Needle Point and dabbled a bit in Collagraphy. She also appreciated more active hobbies like playing Parks and Rec softball, overseas travel, participating in a Bunco dice game group, or going camping at Clear Lake with her sister Lita. Other activities included leading a Church Growth Group and attending a monthly Bible study with her husband. Ellen never hesitated when presented with a challenge, so when her husband Dan proposed buying some land in the mountains and building a cabin, she was all in. Other than the concrete foundation and the shingles on the roof, the log cabin was built by family and friends on weekends and vacations over a period of three years. Ellen always made sure the people helping were fed, and when needed she also helped with cutting wood and other tasks to maintain the progress.
Mostly Ellen liked doing things for the family, like inviting up to 20+ people for Thanksgiving in Idyllwild every year since 1988 when the cabin was completed. Other big events Ellen hosted at their home in Carlsbad were Christmas and Easter. She was a stickler for detail and always went that extra mile to make sure everyone was being taken care of. You can be sure that those who could make these events each year always did. Ellen also used her energy and her serving skills in support of her Church family at Redeemer by the Sea, where she became a key partner in all things related to hospitality.
Ellen is survived by her husband Dan, her son Sean and his wife Janice, Granddaughters Mariana and Audrey, as well as her brothers Louis and his wife Teresa, Larry and his wife Sharon, Ken, her sisters Lita and husband Jim, Lorri, June and husband Brian. She is preceded in death by her father Lawrence and her youngest son Aaron, who died in an accident in 2002 at age 27.
Born on June 27, 1946 in Des Moines Iowa. Her parents were Lawrence Strother and Lela Strother (DeSouza). Her siblings include three brothers, Luis, Larry and Ken, along with three sisters, Lita, Lori and June. After a yearlong battle with Lymphoma cancer Ellen passed away on December the 6th 2019 at the age of 73. She had been in the hospital near death five months earlier, but miraculously survived and was able to spend her last days at home finding peace with her faith and her condition.
During her youth Ellen moved several times, as Navy families do, and then in 1967 she moved from Hutchinson Kansas to Ventura California. It was there she later met her future husband Dan Bitner through waitressing at a restaurant he frequented. On January 30, 1971 Dan and Ellen were married at a Lutheran Church in Bell Calif.
They began their life together living in Downey, but soon moved to Anaheim, where they lived until moving to Carlsbad, their current home, in 1984. Their two sons Sean and Aaron were the center of Ellen’s life, be it birthdays, providing rides to or helping out with football, baseball, track, soccer, RC car racing or skateboard activities. She enjoyed being a stay at home Mom and helping as a volunteer at school; later she did join the school staff as a Food Service worker (a.k.a. Lunch Lady) and worked there for 10 years until her retirement in 2012.
Ellen loved craft work and was accomplished at Knitting, Crocheting, Needle Point and dabbled a bit in Collagraphy. She also appreciated more active hobbies like playing Parks and Rec softball, overseas travel, participating in a Bunco dice game group, or going camping at Clear Lake with her sister Lita. Other activities included leading a Church Growth Group and attending a monthly Bible study with her husband. Ellen never hesitated when presented with a challenge, so when her husband Dan proposed buying some land in the mountains and building a cabin, she was all in. Other than the concrete foundation and the shingles on the roof, the log cabin was built by family and friends on weekends and vacations over a period of three years. Ellen always made sure the people helping were fed, and when needed she also helped with cutting wood and other tasks to maintain the progress.
Mostly Ellen liked doing things for the family, like inviting up to 20+ people for Thanksgiving in Idyllwild every year since 1988 when the cabin was completed. Other big events Ellen hosted at their home in Carlsbad were Christmas and Easter. She was a stickler for detail and always went that extra mile to make sure everyone was being taken care of. You can be sure that those who could make these events each year always did. Ellen also used her energy and her serving skills in support of her Church family at Redeemer by the Sea, where she became a key partner in all things related to hospitality.
Ellen is survived by her husband Dan, her son Sean and his wife Janice, Granddaughters Mariana and Audrey, as well as her brothers Louis and his wife Teresa, Larry and his wife Sharon, Ken, her sisters Lita and husband Jim, Lorri, June and husband Brian. She is preceded in death by her father Lawrence and her youngest son Aaron, who died in an accident in 2002 at age 27.
During her youth Ellen moved several times, as Navy families do, and then in 1967 she moved from Hutchinson Kansas to Ventura California. It was there she later met her future husband Dan Bitner through waitressing at a restaurant he frequented. On January 30, 1971 Dan and Ellen were married at a Lutheran Church in Bell Calif.
They began their life together living in Downey, but soon moved to Anaheim, where they lived until moving to Carlsbad, their current home, in 1984. Their two sons Sean and Aaron were the center of Ellen’s life, be it birthdays, providing rides to or helping out with football, baseball, track, soccer, RC car racing or skateboard activities. She enjoyed being a stay at home Mom and helping as a volunteer at school; later she did join the school staff as a Food Service worker (a.k.a. Lunch Lady) and worked there for 10 years until her retirement in 2012.
Ellen loved craft work and was accomplished at Knitting, Crocheting, Needle Point and dabbled a bit in Collagraphy. She also appreciated more active hobbies like playing Parks and Rec softball, overseas travel, participating in a Bunco dice game group, or going camping at Clear Lake with her sister Lita. Other activities included leading a Church Growth Group and attending a monthly Bible study with her husband. Ellen never hesitated when presented with a challenge, so when her husband Dan proposed buying some land in the mountains and building a cabin, she was all in. Other than the concrete foundation and the shingles on the roof, the log cabin was built by family and friends on weekends and vacations over a period of three years. Ellen always made sure the people helping were fed, and when needed she also helped with cutting wood and other tasks to maintain the progress.
Mostly Ellen liked doing things for the family, like inviting up to 20+ people for Thanksgiving in Idyllwild every year since 1988 when the cabin was completed. Other big events Ellen hosted at their home in Carlsbad were Christmas and Easter. She was a stickler for detail and always went that extra mile to make sure everyone was being taken care of. You can be sure that those who could make these events each year always did. Ellen also used her energy and her serving skills in support of her Church family at Redeemer by the Sea, where she became a key partner in all things related to hospitality.
Ellen is survived by her husband Dan, her son Sean and his wife Janice, Granddaughters Mariana and Audrey, as well as her brothers Louis and his wife Teresa, Larry and his wife Sharon, Ken, her sisters Lita and husband Jim, Lorri, June and husband Brian. She is preceded in death by her father Lawrence and her youngest son Aaron, who died in an accident in 2002 at age 27.
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