Amelia Ehlen

Amelia J. Ehlen (Mimi), of Lebanon, Ohio, died unexpectedly at her home on Saturday, April 11, of

apparent heart failure. She was 60 years of age.

Mimi was born June 20, 1959, in Newport Beach, California, to Anna and Arthur James, both deceased.

She graduated from Sylvania Southview High School in 1977. She earned her BA degree in Secondary

Education from Miami (OH) University in1981 and an MA degree in Education from Xavier University in

1993.

Mimi enjoyed a long and successful career as an English teacher at both the high school and middle

school levels. After spending the early part of her teaching career at Sylvania Southview High School,

Cincinnati Princeton High School, and Whiteford (MI) High School, she ended her career at Cincinnati

Hills Christian Academy, where she taught Language Arts at their Upper School and mentored their

successful “Power of the Pen” teams, whose participants advanced in local to regional and state writing

competitions.

She considered her time at CHCA the pinnacle of her teaching career; she loved both the faculty and

the students there, and they seemed to love her right back. Because of Mimi’s love and passion for

literature, and the many lives that she touched at CHCA, the school is honoring her with the creation of

the Mimi Ehlen Memorial Library. Their plan is to expand upon the literary library that Mimi started in

her classroom two years ago.

Mimi was a movie buff and spent many nights sharing popcorn with her husband at the cinema. She loved

sports, and was the #1 fan of whichever basketball team her husband was coaching. Mimi also enjoyed

cheering on the Reds, the Browns, and the Buckeyes every season. She watched with pride as her

daughter Eliza, grew from her little girl to an interior design student at the University of Cincinnati. Mimi

also savored her long walks with their faithful labradoodle, Rufus, and she loved reading a good book; she

always seemed to have one book in hand, with three more stacked and waiting for her.

She is survived by her husband, Mark, daughter Eliza, sister Ceri (Jeff)Paul, brother Doug (Ree) James, and many loving relatives and friends. A memorial service will be organized at a later date.

The family requests that donations be made in her honor to the Mimi Ehlen Memorial Library Fund.

More information about the fund can be found here: http://www.chca-oh.org/MimiEhlenLibrary