Ellen C. McCullough Mowery, 101

August 30, 2018

Ellen C. McCullough Mowery, age 101, died peacefully on Thursday, August 30, 2018 at St. Anne’s Retirement Community, Columbia PA.
Ellen was born in Carlisle, PA on June 5, 1917 to the late James A. and Edna H. Kerckhoff McCullough and was the oldest of seven children.
She was married for 63 years to the late William C. Mowery, Sr. Together they had six children, three sons and three daughters. Ellen was also the proud grandmother of sixteen, the great-grandmother of 37, and the great-great-grandmother of one.
Ellen graduated from Sacred Heart Academy, Lancaster, in 1935 as Class Poet. Later she attended The Writer’s Digest School for Article Writing, and Franklin and Marshall College for Fiction and Non-fiction. Ellen pursued her passion for writing and wrote a bi-weekly personal column, titled “Hearth Beat,” for the Catholic Witness (Harrisburg Diocesan newspaper) for nine years from 1974-1983. She was also a Speaker in the Harrisburg Diocese for women’s parish organizations, a script writer for a children’s religious program on WGAL-TV called “The Magic Cocoon,” a tour guide for Historic Lancaster and Amish Country, and a tour escort for Conestoga Tours throughout the Eastern U.S. and Canada.
Throughout her lifetime, Ellen had the opportunity to travel the globe. She journeyed to nine countries in Europe, visited 48 states in the U.S. including Alaska and five Hawaiian Islands; ventured to Iceland, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Bermuda, the Canary Islands, Venezuela, the Canadian Rockies and ten Canadian Provinces.
She is survived by five children, William C. Mowery, Jr. (Loretta E.), Joan M. Asso (Roger F.), Patricia E. Cliggett (Donald G. Raymond), James P. Mowery (Mary Kim), and Thomas J. Mowery (Marianne Gammache). She is also survived by two brothers, William J. McCullough, Sr. (Nancy), Richard R. McCullough (Julie), and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by a daughter, Mary Ann Mroczka; and four siblings, James McCullough, Kathleen M. Houston, Mary E. McCullough and Robert E. McCullough.
Friends will be received at the Charles F. Snyder Funeral Home & Crematory, 414 East King St., Lancaster, PA on Tuesday, September 4, 2018 from 6-8PM. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, September 5, 2018 at 10AM at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, 501 E. Orange St., Lancaster, PA. Interment will follow in St. Anthony’s Catholic Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make contributions in Ellen Mowery’s memory to St. Anne’s Retirement Community, 3952 Columbia Ave, Columbia, PA 17512; Hospice & Community Care, 685 Good Drive, P.O. Box 4125, Lancaster, PA 17604.