Paula Cathleen Ellis

Paula was the first child of Paul and Doris (nee Cottingham) Ellis, born on April 15, 1960, at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. She spent her early childhood in Westchester and Granada Hills in the San Fernando Valley, growing up with her sister, Dorothy. We had fun running around with all the neighborhood kids, playing with baby dolls and Barbies, having birthday parties and sleepovers, watching Elvis movies, singing and dancing to the Beatles and the Supremes, walking to Danube Elementary School, participating in Brownie and Girl Scout activities, attending movie matinees, and playing hide-and-seek until dark. Mother also took groups of us to Kiddieland, the LA Zoo, and Grauman's Chinese Theatre to see premieres of The Sound of Music and The Jungle Book. Our brother David came along when Paula was nearly 10.

Our family moved to the city of Torrance where dad worked in 1971, two months after the 6.8 Sylmar earthquake damaged our valley home and six days before Paula's 11th birthday. She was educated in the Torrance Unified School District, graduating from Torrance High in 1978. Paula attended extended courses at SCROC and El Camino College and later worked for Kelly Girl Career Services as a bank teller and for Sprint telephone sales. She participated in agency picnics and often took our brother with her to company baseball games. Working hard allowed her to enjoy vacationing in places like Hawaii and Lake Tahoe.

Paula spent a lot of time with our younger brother David. She learned to play guitar and liked singing to him. She and our mother accompanied David to Cub Scout activities and on weekend camping trips with the YMCA to Camps Whittle and Round Meadow. She took him to flag football games and supported him in Little League by working the snack shack with mother. Paula and David shared a love for country music. She enjoyed taking him to local concerts at Knott's Berry Farm and the Pomona Fairgrounds.

Paula loved her dogs; raised and bred cockatiels, lovebirds, parakeets and finches; and supported the Humane Society through regular donations. She praised Jesus and adored Elvis Presley, Tammy Wynette, and Tanya Tucker. She loved roses, sewed a lot of her dresses, and baked the best coffee cake and peanut butter cookies. Paula was very skilled at crocheting. She designed her own patterns and crocheted unique pillows and blankets of every size for all members of our family and many of the babies born to our extended family and friends. Paula was the family historian. She tracked and remembered the special dates of every member.

Paula cherished her sister Dorothy's only child, Crystal. She was very active throughout her niece's childhood, helping to care for her. Paula taught Crystal how to bake/cook, crochet, latch hook and sew. They enjoyed doing fun things together like visiting numerous pet shops or walking the botanical gardens. She took Crystal on trips to Disneyland, Seaside Lagoon, and searched out new parks to explore. They would play cards or board games for hours, paint ceramincs, make jewelry and read. They were very close.

Paula loved our relatives in Indiana and her lifelong friend Lori Swinford, whom she met there when she was eight during one of our family's annual road trips back east. Paula enjoyed spending summers staying with our aunts, uncles, and cousins; visiting Grandma Dolly; swimming in lakes; exploring in the woods; and the enchantment of catching fireflies. She visited a few times on her own as an adult and even attended Lori's wedding. Paula always appreciated the connection she maintained with them, exchanging cards and letters up until Christmas 2024.

Paula passed away on March 11, 2025, of end-stage renal failure. She is predeceased by our parents Paul and Doris; and survived by sister Dorothy; brother David; niece Crystal and her husband Steve, and their children Ryan, Kaitlyn, and Ian.

Now in the loving care of our Lord and her many angels, Paula will be laid to rest April 15, 2025, on what would have been her 65th birthday. Graveside service will be at 2 p.m. at Eternal Hills Memorial Park in Oceanside, California.

Paula loved lighthouses and that her initials were an abbreviation of "peace," having them displayed on her vehicle's personalized license plate and often using them when she closed a letter with "PCE out!" She will always be a part of us and lovingly remembered in our hearts. May her faith guide her to God's lighthouse of peace.