Ellen Werner

1937 - 2021

Ellen Werner October 27, 1937 - November 20, 2021 Resident of Greenbrae Ellen Cathrine Werner, age 84, died peacefully in her sleep Saturday morning, November 20, 2021 at her home in Greenbrae, California. Born in Oslo, Norway on October 27, 1937, Ellen was part of the generation that grew up in a post-war Europe but did extremely well in school and had ambitions to explore the wider world. She first spent some time abroad as an exchange student in Paris, France in 1956 to develop her language skills, before being offered her first full-time job at the Norwegian Foreign Service in 1957. She was assigned to the office in San Francisco and headed off by ship across the Atlantic for a new adventure in the City by the Bay. After three years of working for the Norwegian Foreign Service until 1960, she was offered a job at Icelandic Airlines and stayed there until 1963. In the meantime, Ellen had met her future husband and lifelong partner, an engaging and charismatic German fellow named Klaus W. Werner, and they married in 1960 and settled down in San Francisco where they lived for four years before moving to Greenbrae in 1970. In 1975, Ellen obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree, cum laude, in German from San Francisco State University and, in 1980, she obtained a Master of Arts in Museum studies at John F. Kennedy University. She started a career in 1968 at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco, spanning over 30 years where she specialized in art from Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Ellen was a devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother and friend. Her generosity, kindness and support of those she loved was unwavering and her wisdom and quick wit were endearing traits to all those who knew her. She was truly a renaissance woman who enjoyed weaving, hiking, biking, skiing, photography, entertaining and travel. She was a passionate student of the arts, theater, history and the study of languages, ultimately becoming fluent in seven. She was a lifelong learner who continued to take language courses and as a voracious reader she participated in both Norwegian and American book clubs throughout much of her life. Ellen is survived by her three children, Ken (and Amy) Werner of The Woodlands, Texas, Keith Werner of Abidjan, C"-te d'Ivoire, and Katja (and James) O'Brien of Belvedere, California; seven grandchildren: Katie, David, Megan, Kevin and Ethan Werner, and Allegra and Max O'Brien. She is survived by family in Norway, including: Hild Hvatum, Jens (and Nina) Imsrud and Hanne (and Sean) Sweeney. She is survived by family in Germany, including: Dr. Kai (and Rosemarie) Werner, Professor Dr. Ina Lorenz Werner, Friederike (and Pablo) Blanco, Sebastian Werner, Sybille (and Klaus) Waetcke and many loving nieces, nephews, and friends from both Norway and Germany. As per her wishes, Ellen's ashes will be buried at her family gravesite in Europe. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Ellen's name to a favorite charity. A private family celebration of life will be held in the spring of 2022.