Ellen D. Burns

1920 - 2020

Ellen D. Burns

Ellen D. Burns passed away on Friday February 21, 2020 after a brief illness. She was within 5 months of her 100th birthday, which would have occurred on July 20th. For nearly 60 years Ellen lived in the rural beauty of Balhinch along Sugar Creek, southwest of Crawfordsville, Indiana, with her husband Jene D. Burns, a self-taught mechanical engineer who became an artist and writer. In 2006 Jene preceded Ellen in death. Both Ellen and Jene grew up in Richmond, Indiana. Ellen, born July 20, 1920, was the eldest of 4 children of Jesse F. and Della M. (Snyder) Beals who lived on Abington Pike, near Earlham College where Jesse was a longtime administrator. As a young girl, Ellen lived several years in Nashville, Tennessee when her father worked at Fisk University. Ellen graduated from Morton High School and matriculated at Earlham College, where she completed her first year of college. Ellen and Jene were married in 1939 and lived in Richmond on Abington Pike, until moving to their home overlooking Sugar Creek in 1960. They had 5 children, the eldest J Darrell Burns deceased in 1961. Ellen's survivors include son John T. Burns and daughter-in-law Anne E. (Ramsey) Burns of Bethany, WV, daughter Peggy L. (Burns) Lock of Naples, Florida, daughter Julia K. (Burns) Harrison and son-in-law John E. Harrison of West Baden Springs, Indiana, and Patrick T. Burns and daughter-in-law Deborah J. (McDaniel) Burns of Crawfordsville. Ellen was preceded in death by her brother John E. Beals, a well-known land surveyor in Richmond, Phyllis (Beals) Kendall, a public school teacher, and is survived by her youngest sister, Olive Mae (Beals) Ranck, a retired public school teacher and brother-in-law George Ranck of Richmond. Ellen has 12 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren, and 4 great great grandchildren. Ellen had a long and rewarding career as a grade school teacher, beginning in New Paris, Ohio, and then in the Crawfordsville area at schools at Grange Corner, New Market, Turkey Run, Marshall and finally at Hose Elementary School in Crawfordsville. Ellen completed B.A. and Master's degrees in Elementary Education at Indiana State University while teaching and raising children. Ellen was raised in the Friends Church and was a member of the D.A.R. Burial will be on March 27th in Earlham Cemetery in Richmond, Indiana.