Ellen Margarete Liebe Dunlap was surrounded by her children, grandchildren, most of her great grandchildren, and newest great great grandbaby the week prior to her passing on January 1, 2024. She left a legacy of music, smiles, feistiness, and love in her wake.
Ellen was born December 8, 1929, in San Francisco, CA, to Gustchen and Emanuel Liebe. She was an only child who received all the attention and affection of her parents to support her talent for music. Ellen was first a violinist, violist, and music teacher, then a wife, mother, grandmother, and more.
Ellen graduated from Banning High School in Wilmington, CA, in 1947, and from the University of Oregon (go Ducks!) with a BA in Music and a minor in German in 1951. She completed an additional year of college for her teaching certificate in 1954.
Ellen enjoyed working at the Oregon Caves for several summers and making lifelong friends, taught music in the Newberg, OR, school district, and then moved to the Bremerton, WA, school district to teach music. Then the fun began...
Ellen met Vernon R. Dunlap, Jr., in 1958 at the Community Theater in Bremerton. They were married in San Francisco in July 1958 — three months after their first date — and had their first daughter, Christina, in 1959, and their second daughter, Carrie-Marie, in 1961. From that one woman and those two daughters, sprang 7 grandchildren (Malik, Raven, Rahsaan, Eric, Tyler, Isaiah, and Jacob), 21 great-grandchildren (DeJa, Amajhe, Jaisaan, Tionni, Tyrell, Malia, Ashley, Cadence, Ethan, Brayden, Dayton, Carter, Skyler, Carlee, London, Maylee, Ezra, Kaiden, Grayson, Addison, and Maverick), and three great-great-grandchildren (Micah, Ela, and Mila).
Ellen was active in the performing arts for nearly all of life. She played in the Bremerton Symphony and Olympic College Chamber Orchestra, and was a member of the Bremerton Community Theatre as an actor, musician, and box office manger. She made several trips to Europe in her lifetime, loved animals, and enjoyed many camping trips throughout the Pacific Northwest and up into Canada with her family.
Ellen was known for being an independent thinker. She was feisty, forthright, and fun if you were on her good side. The thing she loved most in life was talking to people, learning where they were from, and hearing their stories. She always found a way to connect. Talking with her friends on the phone, and being with her family, were the absolute delight of her life in her final years.
While Ellen did not die by suicide, suicide has been prevalent in her family. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention or to your local theatre, music, arts, or animal welfare association to continue her passion for the arts.
A memorial service for Ellen will be held on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at 1:00pm at Hope Church, 200 SW Langston Rd, Renton, WA.