Former Sandy resident, Ella South died on Friday, July 17, 2009 in Oregon City. She was 86.
A Funeral Service will be held in the chapel of Sandy Funeral Home on Wednesday July 22nd, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. Burial will follow at Firhill Memorial Cemetery.
She was born, Ella Victoria Garske on February 9, 1923 in Webster, North Dakota to Henry and Ada (Rance) Garske. At the age of 6, Ella’s father died. Ada and the children remained in Webster for 4 years until moving to Warrensburg, Missouri where Ella met and later married, Robert Arnold Thornton. After they were married, they moved to Portland where they raised their daughter Debbie. Ella returned to nursing in the late 1960’s and returned to Warrensburg after her divorce in 1974 and pursued her career until retiring. In 1989, Ella moved back to Oregon where she lived with her daughter and family.
On September 23, 1993 Ella was married to Paul South in Sandy. He preceded her in death on October 30, 1996. Ella remained in Sandy until 2007 when she moved to Oregon City to be near her family.
Mrs. South was an active member at Sandy Baptist Church. She was an avid reader, and was also involved in the Sandy Senior Center where she enjoyed taking trips and spending time with her friends. She was a very active and outgoing woman.
Ella is survived by her daughter, Debbie Rice of Gresham; her sisters, Doris Williams of Warrensburg, Misssouri and Eilene Chism of Baltimore, Maryland; 2 grandchildren, Nicole and Anthony and 3 great grandchildren, Bryce, Alysa and Sydney.