Mrs. Ellen Jurgens

Ellen Jurgens, 65, departed this life on November 3, 2011 at her residence surrounded by her loving family. Ellen Jurgens lived life to the fullest and nothing was going to slow her down. If she was at a party, she would get everybody to dance. If she had a free hour at home, she would squeeze in a field trip with one of her grandchildren. She and her husband loved to travel, so they were always planning the next trip, whether to her relaxing condo overlooking the beach on Amelia Island or to a destination they had picked out together somewhere in the world. Therefore, when it was time to celebrate her 65th birthday, cancer was definitely not going to keep Ellen home. She was exactly where she wanted to be: with her family for a weekend celebration at Lake Oconee. Three weeks later, on November 3, devoted wife, beloved mom, and doting Oma Ellen died of breast cancer at her home in Roswell, surrounded by her loved ones. Ellen was born Elisabeth Clasina Vloemans in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on October 10, 1946. She met the love of her life, Joep Jurgens, when she was a teenager and they were married May 15, 1969. Their sons, Roy and Mike, would follow soon after. After she moved with her husband, Joep, to Washington, D.C. in 1979 with their two young sons, Ellen seized the opportunities the US offered to embark on an academic journey, which she had always wanted to complete. While simultaneously guiding her sons through school and never missing a soccer game, a play, or a chance to help with their homework, she obtained an Associate’s Degree at Montgomery College in Maryland, a Bachelor’s Degree at Keene State College in New Hampshire, and finished with a Master’s Degree in Science from the University of Maryland in 1992. Her career also flourished. During the same time she was obtaining her degrees, she became a licensed Registered Dietitian and Chief Dietitian at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, MD. After her husband’s job moved the couple to Atlanta in 1993, Ellen became the Corporate Dietitian of Southern Food Management, where she worked until 2001. In March 2007, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It went into remission, but when it metastasized in February 2008, it was diagnosed as triple negative breast cancer. At that point, she made the decision that not only would cancer not define her, she and her husband decided that they would live life even more to the fullest. While living with cancer, she spent her time playing golf, traveling the world, and doting on her three grandchildren. In between, she would actively participate and often lead the multiple groups she belonged to – the Niners golf group, Bunko night, and the Brookside dinner club. She also found time to volunteer for homeless children and became increasingly involved in ensuring all women had access to the proper medication and services to treat cancer. Nothing could stop her from getting the job done, unless, of course, there was an opportunity to see one of her three grandchildren Will, Luke or Sophie. Whether cooking with Will, taking Luke to the children’s museum, or setting up Play-Doh parties with Sophie, the grandkids loved nothing more than a weekend fieldtrip to see their Oma, especially if it involved a trip with everyone to the train museum. She will be remembered by everyone for her constant smile, unbridled enthusiasm, strong will, and loving personality. Those attributes will be shared at a Celebration of Her Life Service, which will be held at 12:00 pm on Wednesday, November 9 at Roswell Funeral Home. Besides her husband, other survivors include her son Roy and his girlfriend Lisa of San Francisco; her son Mike, daughter-in-law Liz and her grandchildren Will, Luke and Sophie, all of Alpharetta. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made in Mrs. Jurgens’ name to the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation (www.tnbcfoundation.org). Roswell Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.