Ellen Marie Degnan Reeves

1959 - 2014

Ellen Marie Degnan Reeves
Nov. 5, 1959-Oct. 8, 2014
Resident of San Jose
Died peacefully on October 8, 2014 in San Jose, CA. Born November 5, 1959 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Ronan Eugene Degnan and Lillian Genevieve (nee Smith). Ellen was raised in Berkeley and attended Berkeley High School and Cal State Hayward where, in 1986, she earned a degree in Business Administration. Ellen had three boys Alexander, Matthew and Justin with her former husband James Reeves and raised the family in Fremont, San Jose, and finally Saratoga, California.
As they were growing up, Ellen was very involved with her son's schools and in 1996, served as the President of the Saratoga Foothill Elementary PTA. She was always passionate about teaching and took on many substitute teacher roles that eventually led into a role as Special Needs teacher at the Jordan Middle School in Palo Alto.
In 2011, Ellen earned a teaching credential from the California State University at Monterey Bay. Ellen was also very active in her book club, as well as being the Captain of the Saratoga Tennis team known as the Sizzlin' Sisters. Ellen is survived by her loving boyfriend Bob Blanchard; her children Alexander, Matthew, and Justin; her sister Nancy Degnan, and her nephew Evan Cathey. Ellen was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Michael Degnan.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at the Saratoga Country Club on Saturday, November 1, 2014 at 1:30pm. Donations are welcome for a memorial bench at the Jordan Middle School in Palo Alto.