Ellen Margaret Vance, age 103, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee passed away on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. She was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on April 9, 1920 to the late Leo Kavanaugh Meehan and Ellen Cecilia Long Meehan. Mrs. Vance was a 1937 graduate of Knoxville Catholic High School. She was a member of St. Mary’s Church in Oak Ridge since before its construction in 1950.
In addition to her parents, sister Rosemary Stewart and brothers Leo and Robert Meehan, she was preceded in death by her husband John Gerald (Jack) Vance, daughter Kathleen Vance, and infant son John Joseph. She is survived by daughters Mary Vance Jimmerson (Keith) and Ellen Vance O’Shea; sons Stephen Francis Vance, Paul Gerald Vance (Susan), Mark Christopher Vance (Sharon), and Philip Gerard Vance; 15 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends on Sunday December 17, 2023 from 6-7:45 pm at Mott-McKamey Funeral Home in Oak Ridge, followed by the Rosary. Mrs. Vance’s funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Church in Oak Ridge on Monday December 18, 2023 at 11 am followed by graveside services.
Mrs. Vance graduated from Knoxville Catholic High School in 1937, and was recognized for several years as their oldest living graduate. Here is a link to the high school’s Facebook posting on her passing: https://fb.watch/oYmW1kRuWc/
Memorial donations can be made to Knoxville Catholic High School at https://knoxvillecatholic.com/irish-fund/ or KCHS, attn: Joni Punch, 9245 Fox Lonas, Knoxville, TN 37922.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
1017 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
Memories and condolences can be left on the obituary at the funeral home website.
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