The mountains were her happy place

Ellen was born on March 8, 1928, the daughter of Fred and Kathleen McAninch. She and her brother Bill McAninch grew up in the Northville area of Michigan.  Ellen was a member of the Rainbow Girls, a graduate of Plymouth High School and attended Western Michigan University for two years. On June 25, 1949, Ellen married William (Jef) Jefsen, and raised two daughters, Laurie and Pam, in the south Chicago suburbs. The Jefsen family also lived in Ludington, MI for 5 years and in 1967 Ellen became the “first lady” of Ludington when Jef was elected mayor.  After returning to the Chicago area in 1971, Ellen completed a degree in accounting and started her own business. 

 

Surviving Ellen are daughter Laurie Jefsen and her husband Mike Shevchik of Portage MI; daughter Pam Jefsen of Beaufort SC; grandson Mike Noblet, wife Stacy and great-granddaughters Amelia and Lydia; grandson Spencer Norton, wife Kerry, and great-grandsons August and Blair; and, four McAninch nieces and nephews, Karen, Dave, Brian and Barb, and their families. 

Ellen has lived for the past 15 years at Carolina Village in Hendersonville, NC, where she made many friends. Staff knew her to be a kind, good natured woman who always knew her own mind.  She wouldn’t let anyone treat her like “a little old lady”.  She enjoyed the people who made up her support system, always felt valued and never failed to compliment the professionalism of staff. 

Until the end, Ellen was surrounded by love, in the shadow of her beloved Smoky Mountains!