Ellen Robertson Wallace

Ellen Robertson Wallace, 88, passed away peacefully at the family farm in the early morning of September 15, surrounded by love and care.

Born May 18, 1938, in Cleveland, Ohio, Ellen was the daughter of the late Frederick Irving Robertson and Doris Mary (Byars) Robertson. She was a daughter, sister, twin, wife, mother, grandmother, friend, and the beloved matriarch of her family.

From an early age, Ellen cared deeply about other people and believed that the world could, and should, be made better. After graduating from Earlham College, she lived abroad in Guatemala and Germany while volunteering with the American Friends Service Committee. She later returned to Cleveland to earn her master’s degree in social work from Case Western Reserve University. There she met medical student and husband-to-be, Don Wallace.

Ellen continued her work with the AFSC as an organizer and activist while life took her and Don to Chicago and then Baltimore as he completed his medical training, academic career, and military service. Through it all, Ellen was building a life and career very much her own. A working mother at a time when that path was far less common, she spent much of her forty-year career as a nephrology social worker and served for many years on the Board of Directors of The National Kidney Foundation. She was also raising three children and taking on all the roles that came with it: Girl Scout leader, homework helper, chauffeur, and numerous others. Her work, at home and beyond it, was a natural extension of the curiosity, independence, and sense of purpose that had taken her abroad as a young woman. A lifelong and staunch Democrat, she was deeply invested in the people and causes she cared about.

In retirement, Ellen and Don moved to the Wallace Family Farm in Medway, Ohio. There, she remained civically engaged, while settling into a quieter pace of life. She came to love the rhythms of the land and the seasons as they passed around her: summer storms rolling in over the cornfields, deer wandering through in the fall, the stillness of winter, and beds of daffodils and lilacs returning each spring.

And then there were the wonderfully particular things that made her Ellen. She was funny and quick-witted, with a sharp sense of humor and a knack for saying exactly the right thing at exactly the right moment. She loved her children and grandchildren fiercely and had a special place in her heart for the many animals she cared for over the years, especially her sweet dog, Bella. She loved purple, root beer, coffee ice cream, sinking into a deep armchair, and ending the evening with a bourbon, or two. Those who knew her can surely still hear a perfectly timed, “Well, hot damn.”

Ellen loved openly, enthusiastically, and without reservation. She rarely left you wondering what she thought, whether she was offering affection, encouragement, admiration, or a strong opinion. Her grandchildren knew this especially well. To be loved by Ellen was to be reminded, often and emphatically, just how wonderful she thought you were.

Ellen is survived by her husband of nearly 63 years, Donald K. Wallace, MD/MPH, her children, Sarah (Knox) Clark, Rachel (Alejandro) Escoto, and Donald McKinney Wallace (Laura), her seven grandchildren, Knox, Milly, Aline, Reedy, Alex, Miriam, and Josie, her nieces and nephews, her sisters-in-law, and her devoted friend, Lisa. She was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Martha; and her adored twin, the Honorable James Robertson.

Her long life was deeply woven into the lives of those around her. Ellen’s legacy will be carried forward for generations to come: in family stories and traditions, in funny quotes and silly songs, and most of all, in her people. Even in her final days, she was still showing us something about how to live. Ellen left this world with the same intelligence, elegance, intrepid strength, courage, and loving acceptance with which she lived in it.

The family would like to extend special thanks to Ellen’s extraordinary caregivers at the Springfield Masonic Community. For those wishing to honor Ellen’s memory, please vote. You might also consider donating to a social justice organization of your choice. She would be so pleased.