Darlene I. Ellston

ST. LIBORY – Darlene I. Ellston, 77, of St. Libory died Sunday, Dec. 23, 2007, at the Golden Living Center at Park Place in Grand Island. Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Peters Funeral Home in St. Paul. The Rev. Catherine Kuschel will officiate. Burial will be in the Elmwood Cemetery in St. Paul. Visitation will be Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the funeral home. Mrs. Ellston was born on Febr. 27, 1930, at Bonesteel, South Dakota, the daughter of Frank and Rose (Herman) McKenzie. She is survived by her husband, Jay R. Ellston of St. Libory; two daughters, Sharon Ellston of St. Libory and Jan Ellston of Grand Island; one son and daughter-in-law, Richard and Connie Ellston of Humboldt; four sisters, Vi Warner of Cheyenne, WY, Bernice Tietjen of Herrick, SD, Neomi Schepp of Cheyenne, WY and Jean Lucht of Grand Island. She is also survived by four grandchildren and their spouses, Shane Ellston, Ryan and Melissa Ellston, Jessica and Mike Goodman, all of Grand Island and Cole Ellston of Humboldt; and two great-granddaughters, Lilly and Jamie Goodman of Grand Island. Darlene grew up in Bonesteel and attended country school in the area. She then attended the St. Mary’s Girls High School in Springfield, SD. After graduation she moved to Gregory, SD, where she worked for a dry cleaner. She was united in marriage to Jay R. Ellston on June 19, 1948, at Naper, Nebraska. The couple first lived on a farm near Herrick, SD. As Jay worked for the Bureau of Reclamation, the couple lived in Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. They have resided in St. Libory for the past 35 years. Darlene was a member of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Grand Island. She enjoyed sewing and was a wonderful seamstress. She also loved gardening, feeding birds and spending time with her family and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents; one granddaughter, Amie Jai Ellston; one sister, Ethel Hanson; and four brothers, Rueben, Dick, Pat and Carl McKenzie. Memorials are suggested to the family’s choice or the Genoa Indian School Foundation of Genoa, Nebraska.