Ellen Tilghman Dana

Ellen Tilghman Dana passed away peacefully on Monday, April 25, 2022, two days shy of her 87th birthday. She is now reunited with the love of her life and high school sweetheart, her beloved husband, Ernest Stewart Dana who preceded her departure by exiting stage left while asleep in 1979. We should all be so fortunate. Ellen was born in Salisbury, Maryland to George Wilson Tilghman, Jr. and Louise Walston Tilghman on April 27, 1935, who both preceded her in death.

She is survived by her son, Keith A. Dana of Haymarket, VA; her daughter, Karen Tilghman George and her dear husband, William Thomas, both of Ashburn, VA; her grandchildren, Stuart Theodore Dana and Rebekah Grace (George) Heffington; three great-grandchildren, Abigail, William, and Charlotte Heffington; and many others by relation or marriage.

Ellen loved music. When she was young, she enjoyed tap dancing. She shared stories about fishing on Johnson’s lake with her father in a wood and canvas canoe, the same one we paddled about in as children and on the same body of water. She also adored dogs; her Dad’s, hers, and all of ours. Ellen lived a long and happy life. She loved her family, our church, and thoroughly enjoyed her work in concert with others. When her children were young, she was the “Lunch Lady” at Barrett Elementary – not in the kitchen, but on deck with her ear-piercing whistle in the multi-purpose room. She ran a tight ship.

At Arlington Forest United Methodist Church, Ellen assisted in the nursery, and after her kids moved on to Sunday school, loved setting up the Sunday altar with flowers, for Crusaders class events, and many more projects. She loved singing with the choir. Upon news of her passing, fellow parishioners have commented about her generous spirit, wonderful voice, and perfect pitch whistling. Wonderful memories of her cooking and baking with her famous spaghetti sauce and fall baking – including a whole table full of soft chocolate cookies with icing and topped with a pecan, and her tart cherry pies made from our own fruit tree harvest. Ellen loved gardening in her yard with dogwoods and other flowering trees, and tending to her flowers in her rock gardens, all adjacent to Lubber Run Park, our extended back forty. She enjoyed bird watching year-round. She kept the feeders full, but was not so fond of the abundance of squirrels who also came to partake.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, May 19, 2022 from 3-5pm at Murphy Funeral Home, 4510 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22203. Ellen will be laid to rest on Sunday, May 22, 2022 beside her husband and parents in the Tilghman family plot, Parsons Cemetery, Salisbury, MD.