Obituary: Ellen M. Grossman
Ellen Marie (Haeussler) Grossman — September 2, 1938 – February 28, 2024
Ellen Marie (Haeussler) Grossman had a full and wonderful life filled with her passions: music, travel, and most importantly, family. She passed away at home with family at her side on February 28, 2024, from congestive heart failure.
Ellen was born to Ralph and Florence (Bohms) Haeussler at the family farm in Freedom Township (Manchester) on September 2, 1938. She attended the Silver Lake one-room schoolhouse from kindergarten through 8th grade. She was often kept home from school to work the farm including driving the tractor to disc and cultivate the family fields or follow the combine with a truck to be filled with wheat, oats, or corn. Her daily job was to bottle-feed animals before walking the mile to school. Her family had a large garden from which she learned how to can and freeze. She continued this tradition with her own gardens for many years. Some cherished family moments were making ice cream as a Sunday treat.
Ellen and Barry Grossman met while attending Manchester High School (1952-1956) and started officially dating after their Senior Trip to New York City. They loved to listen to and dance to many of the touring big bands at the Wampler’s Lake Pavilion. Three years after starting to date, Ellen and Barry married at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Bridgewater, MI on September 5, 1959. Their love of music and dance permeated their lives together. Ellen sang in church (St. John’s Lutheran Church and Webster United Church of Christ) and held the longest membership in the Women’s Chamber Chorus in Ann Arbor. She was able to combine her singing with travel on several European trips with church choirs. She loved singing in cathedrals in Ireland, England, and Spain.
As a couple, they were dedicated square dancers since 1962 and combined their love of travel, music, and dance by traveling throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. They danced internationally in Canada, England, Germany, and Italy, as well as cruising and dancing on a Caribbean Cruise ship. The mode of travel expanded when Barry earned his private pilot license in 1966 while a member of the Ann Arbor Fliers Flying Club. Ellen and Barry flew to many places in Michigan and once flew as far as Key West, FL.
Education was also a cornerstone of Ellen’s life. After attending Manchester HS and graduating as Valedictorian, she went on to graduate (also in 1956) from the Comptometer School in Jackson, MI and attended Eastern Michigan University, all while working summer clerical jobs with Sunstrand Corp. in Ann Arbor and Sealtest Foods in Ypsilanti. She graduated from EMU with B.A. in Education with a major in math and minors in Spanish and physics in 1960 and a master’s in Education in 1962. After graduation she taught middle school math at Marshall Junior High School in Westland, MI for one year and then George C. Marshall Junior High School in South Redford, MI for seven years. Ellen’s stint with teaching ended with the arrival of the couple’s first child. Her love of learning spanned her lifetime — she was rarely without a book or something to read. Autobiographies were a favorite.
As their family grew, they continued their traveling by visiting and/or camping in 48 out of the 50 United States (North Dakota and Hawaii were missed) and southern Canada. As with dancing, the couple traveled internationally and added Australia (with the family), New Zealand, Israel, Egypt, and many other countries in Europe to their list of places they had visited. Cancun, Mexico became a favorite destination to wait out winter — made better by traveling with friends from Plymouth, MI.
Ellen’s faith was an integral part of who she was, and her faith was intricately intertwined with her passion for music. She was baptized and confirmed into membership at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Bridgewater and went on to sing in the choir there. In 1981 the couple brought their family to Webster United Church of Christ where she and Barry remain(ed) active members. She continued to sing at Webster as long as she could. She loved openly and lived fully. She made sure that Barry, her children, and her grandchildren knew that she loved them. Her motto in her later years was “live life to its fullest, because you don’t know about tomorrow.”
Ellen was preceded in death by her parents, Ralph and Florence Haeussler; her three brothers, Harold, William, and Gerald. Ellen is survived by her beloved husband, Barry; daughter, Susan (John) Baughn; and son, B. Brian (Karla) Grossman; grandchildren, Erin and John Baughn, Kathryn and Elysabeth Grossman, and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and exchange grandchildren.
The family wishes to thank Arbor Hospice for their loving care. A Memorial Service and interment will take place at Webster United Church of Christ on March 23, 2024, at 11:00-12:00 with a luncheon to follow.
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