Ellen Ruth Voran
1929 - 2020
Ellen Ruth Voran, 91, of Hesston passed
away November 22, 2020. She was born on June 22, 1929 in Newton,
Kansas, the oldest of five children. Her parents were Peter R.
Lohrentz and Emma Marie Ortman Lohrentz. The family lived on a farm
eight miles west of Hesston on Dutch Avenue. Both sets of
grandparents lived less than a mile from them and because of this
close proximity, there were frequent visits to each home. They were
influential in guiding and nurturing Ellen's life. She was baptized
on July 30, 1944 at Hebron Mennonite Church in Buhler and was a
faithful member of Kingman Mennonite Church, Pleasant Valley
Mennonite Church in Harper, and most recently Hesston Mennonite
Church.
Ellen attended rural Harvey County
elementary schools including: Liberty School (District 78) and Berlin
School (District 67), Moundridge High School, and Bethel College.
After two years of college, she taught for two years at Moundridge
Elementary School.
In December 1950, she married Stanley
Voran and they moved to the Voran family farm in Kingman County. They
celebrated 62 years together until his death in 2012. Ellen enjoyed
the role of farmer's wife – milking cows by hand, cranking the
cream separator, tending the chickens, gardening, yard work, driving
a wheat truck and any other task that needed to be done.
In the mid-1950s, several years after
the birth of their son Roxie, Ellen returned to teaching. Initially
she taught music in several rural Kingman County elementary schools,
then the early elementary grades in Waterloo for two years, and then
third grade in Harper Elementary School, teaching for a total of 34
years. During these years, she continued her own education,
completing her undergraduate degree at Friends University and
receiving a Master's Degree in Education from Wichita State
University. Ellen loved children and enjoyed teaching. Her intention
was to instill in her students the joy of learning and lasting life
skills. In 1979, she was recognized as Harper County Teacher of the
Year, and in 1987 as Master Teacher.
Ellen and Stan made many trips to visit
their family in Texas which grew to include: daughter-in-law, Lynda
and granddaughters, Emily and Rebecca. Each one brought special joy
into her life.
Ellen enjoyed music – singing in the
church choir, playing the piano for church services, or playing for
her own enjoyment. After retirement from teaching she had time to
spend on her favorite hobby – quilting. She made many items that
were donated to a Mennonite Central Committee Relief Sale or given as
gifts. Many pleasant hours were spent quilting or sewing while
listening to classical music.
After moving to Schowalter Villa in
Hesston in 2009, Ellen remained active in a variety of activities. In
2016, she was named Volunteer of the Year by Leading Age Kansas for
her work cataloging and organizing hundreds of donated CDs and record
albums for the facility's Music and Memory program.
Ellen was preceded in death by her
parents; her husband, Stanley; and brother, Vernon Lohrentz. She is
survived by her son, Roxie; daughter-in-law, Lynda; and
granddaughters Emily and Rebecca, all of Houston, Texas; brothers,
Howard Lohrentz of Hesston and Ken Lohrentz of Lawrence; sister,
Katherine Joann Ewert of Modesto, California; and numerous other
relatives and friends.
A private service will be live streamed
on the web site of Hesston Mennonite Church, www.hesstonmc.org, and
can be viewed at 10:00 am Saturday, November 28. Memorials are
suggested to Mennonite Central Committee at www.mcc.org, in care of
Miller-Ott Funeral Home, PO Box 32, Hesston, KS 67062.
1929 - 2020 (91 years)