March 27, 1950 – September 17, 2007 @ 57
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Ella Jane Berven, age 57, died peacefully at home in Knoxville on Sept. 17, 2007, after a two-year battle with cancer. She was surrounded by her loving family. Ella is survived by her life companion, Gayle Hansen Browne; children and grandchildren, Katie Berven of Knoxville, Matthew and Tonya Berven, and their children, Andrew and Jacob, of Oak Ridge, Rita Gayle Browne of Knoxville, Jennifer and Jason MacIsaac and their daughter, Fiona, of Knoxville, and Paul and Yelim Browne of Meriden, Conn. She is also survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Cindy and Frank Crocetti of Chestnut Hill, Mass.; her nephew, Paul Crocetti of Chestnut Hill; and her niece, Mary Crocetti, also of Chestnut Hill. Ella was predeceased by her mother, Mary Jane Shea, and her father, Delmas Clay Stutler.
Born on March 27, 1950, in Washington, D.C., she moved to Oak Ridge in 1979 and to Knoxville in 2000. Ella raised her two children, and then went back to school, graduating summa cum laude from Roane State Community College and earning the President's Award. She then went on to Maryville College, graduating magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She then finished her education at the University of Tennessee, graduating again summa cum laude with a master's degree in special education. A gifted student, Ella's essay "Cry, Wolf," which described the reintroduction of gray wolves into Yellowstone National Park, won the December 1995 Beulah Davis Outstanding Freshman Writer Award and is published on the Web.
For the past four years, Ella taught the Special Education Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) class at Eagleton Elementary School in Blount County. Combining her immense creative skills with her deep love for children, Ella taught functional living skills to kindergarten through fifth grade special education students. Ella loved her job and even after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, continued to teach until the last weeks of her life. The children she taught gave color, meaning, and depth to her life.
A life-long Episcopalian, Ella served in many roles at churches around East Tennessee, including St. Luke's in Knoxville, Church of the Resurrection in Loudon, and St. Stephen's in Oak Ridge. She served in multiple capacities, including Acolyte Master, Youth Group Leader, Sunday School Teacher, Vestry Member, and delegate to Diocesan conventions. She led wherever she served and will be deeply missed by those in the parishes whose lives she touched. Ella was passionate about animals. She adopted countless numbers of stray dogs, including her special favorites Ganch and Beau. She was also an equestrian and had horses for a time at the East Tennessee Riding Club in Oak Ridge.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007, at 2 p.m. at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 600 South Chestnut Street, Knoxville, TN. The telephone number is 522-4244. Driving directions are available at www.stlukesknoxville.com. The service will be presided over by the Rev. Claire Keene and the Rev. Canon Stephen Askew. The family will receive friends from approximately 3:30 until 5 p.m.(also on Saturday) at St. Luke's immediately following the service. The committal of ashes will be a private ceremony held by the family at a later date. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, memorials be made in the form of contributions to the "Chaplain's Fund in Memory of Ella Berven," Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, Attention: Chaplain Cook, 1901 Clinch Ave., Knoxville, TN 37916. Click Funeral Home Farragut Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
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