Ellen Willauer Decker

1933 - 2020

Ellen Willauer Decker, 86, of Bryn Mawr, died on Tuesday May 26, 2020 at her home, having spent precious time with her family. She had declined very quickly following a brief hospitalization and cancer diagnosis. The daughter of George J. Willauer, MD and Mary C. Willauer, she was raised in the Germantown section of Philadelphia and was a lifer at Germantown Friends School, where she graduated in 1951. Her brother, George J. Willauer, survives her and lives in Connecticut with his wife Cynthia. Ellen grew up going to Eagle Lake, ME and Pocono Lake Preserve, PA on family vacations. She graduated from William Smith College in 1955 and attended Katharine Gibbs School in Boston. She then returned to Philadelphia and worked as Executive Assistant to the Dean of the Medical School at Temple University, a prestigious position at the time.

She met her husband, Roger, in 1960, and they married a year later in Philadelphia. They raised their three children Thomas W. Decker (Roberta), Holly Decker Harrity (Thomas) and David S. Decker (Elizabeth) in Haverford PA. When Roger died in 1993, she lived proudly and independently on her own in Bryn Mawr for her final 25 years.

For many years, Ellen chaired the Board of Women Visitors at the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania (HUP). The Board is a patient advocacy group and historically ran a primary fundraiser for the hospital, the Philadelphia Antiques Show, which for over 50 years raised millions of dollars for capital projects at the hospital. Her involvement with the Antiques Show was longstanding, and she made many friends and chaired various committees.

Ellen had a strong interest in historic preservation and volunteered at Harriton House, built by a Welsh Quaker in 1704 on property adjacent to her home. She was one of the first guides at Cliveden House, a National Trust property on Germantown Avenue in the early 1970s, when it first opened to the public for tours. In other activities, to honor her husband, she headed the Princeton Class of 1953 Widows Alumni Group for a period of time. She was also a member of the women’s philanthropy group Impact100 Philadelphia for several years and was a longtime member of the Merion Cricket Club and the Cosmopolitan Club.

In addition to her children, and her brother, Ellen is survived by her grandchildren Bailey Decker, Caitlin Harrity, Natalie Harrity, Michael Harrity, Willauer “Will” Decker, and Matthew Decker, nieces and nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews. Ellen will be remembered for her strong opinions, her wit and quick winks, her sense of style and love of the color red, and her unfailing devotion to her family. She was an extraordinarily loving and generous grandparent and was deeply loved in return.

Her memorial service will be will be held privately at a family grave site in Ephrata, PA.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Harriton Association, P.O. Box 1364, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 (www.harritonhouse.org ) or Lower Merion Conservancy, 1301 Rose Glen Road, Gladwyne, PA 19035 (www.lmconservancy.org ).