Obituary for
Laura "Ellen" Watts
Laura “Ellen” Watts
April 9, 1926 – July 17, 2016
Ellen, 90, passed away at Kaiser Westside Hospital in Hillsboro, July 17, 2016. She was born in Forest Grove on April 9, 1926 to Bruce F. and Ida M. (LaSalle) McCann. She attended Manning Elementary School and graduated from Banks Union High School. After High School she attended Pacific University.
During WWII she worked at the shipyards in Portland. After the war she moved to Brooklyn, New York where she became a model. In the mid 1950’s Ellen returned to Oregon and attended the Northwestern School of Commerce. She was a member of the Alumnae Chapter of Alpha Iota and worked for ESCO in their advertising department.
In 1961, she married Joseph J. Watts. They lived in Reedville. Ellen was a Camp Fire leader and wrote a local column for the Hillsboro Argus. They belonged to the Reedville Presbyterian Church where she taught Sunday School and served as a deacon and elder. She worked for the Reedville School District, retiring after fourteen years.
Later, she returned to her childhood home in Manning, living with her daughter until the autumn of 2013.
Her husband preceded her in death on October 4, 1996. She was also preceded in death by five siblings and one grandchild; Margaret (George May), Shirley (James Erwin), Doris (Jird Stephens) Elizabeth (Frank Grant), Robert McCann (Margaret Force) and Teresa Van Dyke Davis. She is survived by her daughters, Laurelen Jabbour (Frederick Van Dyke) and Sue Jones (Samuel B.); grandchildren Tammy (Fred Schrader), Trevor and Timothy Van Dyke, Alicia (Michael Kaake), Samuel J. Jones; great grandchildren Laney Jones, Darren and Dominic Schrader, Jonathan Van Dyke, Juliana and Freya Kaake; great great grandson Eric Gabriel Silva.
A funeral service will be held at Reedville Presbyterian Church, July 31, at 2:00 PM. Interment will be at Willamette National Cemetery. Memorial contributions can be made to the Reedville Presbyterian Church www.reedvillechurch.org , AFTD www.theaftd.org, or the Alzheimer’s Association alzfdn.org.
