Juletta A. Ellingson

Juletta Ann Ellingson, 86 of Mesa, AZ passed away on December 4, 2013. She was born in Dickey, ND on October 27, 1927. Juletta began teaching in a one room school house in North Dakota at age 17 on an emergency certificate. She continued working after marrying the love of her life Mervin, raising 3 kids, and taking care of her home and gardens. After moving to Mesa, Arizona in 1959 she continued her education and earned her bachelor’s degree. Before her retirement in 1988 after teaching for 43 years she had earned her master’s degree and become a grandmother six times.

Juletta worked her entire life and she worked as hard as she could every day. She spent her life caring for other people with her hospitality by providing a bed to visitors and a meal to anyone at any time, but especially for the holidays – any holiday. Everyone who knew her was blessed by her generosity, warm smile, infectious laugh and something to eat. The luckiest ones were the elderly that she took care of until she didn’t have anyone older than herself to take care of anymore.

Juletta had various hobbies during her life from gardening and painting, to woodworking and taking care of lots of cats and ducks. She spent an abundance of time in her kitchen too; during her life she made hundreds of turkeys, thousands of pies and millions of candies. As she got older her hobbies became more focused on telling stories about her family and making loops in her word find books. Even all of this does not compare to her amazing ability to laugh at life no matter what the situation and to laugh at herself no matter what she did or said.

Juletta is survived by her husband of 67 years Mervin; Sisters Irene Randall and Ardella (Gerald) Randall; Children Terry (Chris) Ellingson, Carol Gifford, and Darcy Ellingson; six grandchildren Jeremy (Kristi) Gifford, Jessica Rowland, Joyce Gifford, Juletta (Brian) Fox, David Ellingson, and Vern Ellingson; and eight great-grandchildren Austin Rowland, Zachary Rowland, Jonah Gifford, Madison Rowland, Kennedy Gifford, Jared Gifford, Josiah Gifford, and Mackenzie Fox.