Ellensade McKee Knott

Ellensade McKee Knott, passed away on December 31, 2025 after a 10+ year struggle with dementia. Till the very end, when even words were beyond her, Ellen maintained her fighting spirit and sense of humor.

Ellen was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania in 1937 to Quentin Wallace McKee and Ruth Eugene Ewing and was their only child. Ellen lost her mother early in her teen years but gained a stepmother, Hazel Altman McKee a few years later Unbeknownst to her parents, Ellen applied for and won, a scholarship to nursing school. After earning an RN degree right out of high school, she would go on to obtain a bachelor’s degree in nursing later in life.

Upon graduating from nursing school she and her two friends (Eileen Lux and Kay Kreider) decided to have an adventure and move across the state. She was working in Philadelphia when she met her spouse in the 60’s version of a rideshare back to Greensburg for the holidays. She was married to John Knott in 1962.

During those early years of marriage, the two moved around a bit, finally leaving the Philadelphia area and settling in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, with their two children: Eileen Kay and Elizabeth Ann. After her kids were school-aged, Ellen headed back into the workforce teaching Medical Assistant courses at Central Pennsylvania Business School (CPBS - now Central Penn College) in 1971, where she remained for 12 years. She ended her career at The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

During her working career, Ellen was able to parlay her connections to indulge her love for travel, first by volunteering to “chaperone” (with the help of her family) the students in the travel program on a trip to London; a trip her daughters still remember fondly. Later, after working with the CPBS team to gain accreditation for the school, Ellen started a side career in school assessment allowing her to travel the US. During this time and after, she also travelled with friends and her daughters, to Hawaii, Australia and Alaska. In her later years when they were both over 70, she even took a long time friend, Doris Stiner, on a cross country road trip to see family and friends, visiting several national parks along the way.

When not on the road for work or pleasure, Ellen indulged in her other favorite hobbies – drinking coffee (or wine), visiting with friends, needlecrafts and reading. She was a proud subscriber to the daily paper and several weekly and monthly news and science magazines and had a huge book collection, joking that she would most likely die next to a pile of books she had been meaning to read. She kept abreast of the issues of the day, joining her local chapter of the League of Women Voters in support of the Equal Rights Amendment and writing regularly to her representative during the Watergate hearings. She later participated in local politics through phone banking and other volunteer activities. Never afraid to be outspoken, she championed the rights of others, and made numerous lifelong friends as a result.

Ellen was also an avid gardener, visiting famous gardens everywhere she travelled. She researched and read multiple sources and was happy to help anyone who had a question about gardening. She was particularly proud of the garden at her home in Enola, PA where she lived after the girls had flown the coop. Her green thumb can also be seen at both of her daughters’ homes, as she would often help them maintain their gardens during her visits. She could often be found weeding at 6 am, at her place or theirs. Up until her late 60’s she would even climb trees to assist in pruning. At Aspen Valley, the assisted living center, where she spent the last few years, one of her favorite spots to sit was outside in the garden.

Ellensade is survived by her daughters Eileen (nina) Kay Roepe (Bruce) and Elizabeth Knott Vavricka (Ted) and her grandchildren, Elyse Claire Roepe and Maxwell Quentin Vavricka. Ellen took a special joy in seeing the world through her children’s, and then grandchildren’s, eyes, saying that is why you brought kids into the world- so they could show it to you. They will always remember her singing and the laughter they shared.

Liz and nina would like to thank the staff at Aspen Valley for their care and attention in Ellen’s final years. If you wish to honor Ellen in a more concrete way than raising a glass in her honor, donations to the ACLU, Wounded Warriors or the Alzheimer’s Foundation, in her name are appreciated.