Ella M. Human, 83

TIMONIUM, Md. - Ella M. Human, of Timonium, died Monday, Nov. 26, 2007. She was 83.

Ella was born in 1924, and grew up in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

An avid artist and musician, she was a cellist with the Cape Girardeau Symphony Orchestra and paid for half of her tuition at what is now Southeast Missouri State University by playing the cello at faculty functions with a string quartet.

Ella moved to St. Louis in 1944, where she continued her education at Washington University and where she met and married an Army officer, Ted Human.

The couple settled in Maryland after World War II, where Ella stayed at home to raise two children.

After her children were grown, she became a secretary at the Shepard Pratt Hospital and at time of her retirement she was secretary to the director of the Child and Adolescent Unit.

A lifelong learner, Ella continued to take college courses and painting classes at Towson University and the Community College of Baltimore at Essex, where she became a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society.

Ella was diagnosed as having Alzheimer's disease in 1998 and lived in her own home until a week before her death.

She was preceded in death by a beloved husband, Theodore "Ted" H. Human.

She is survived by children Timothy M. Human and his wife Susan, and Linda T. Human; cherished grandchildren, Alex and Scott Human, Gwen Willey and her husband Mike, and Laura Human; and devoted great-grandchildren, Ayden and Ethan.

The family will receive friends from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Friday the Lemmon Funeral Home of Dulaney Valley Inc., 10 W. Padonia Road, Timonium, Md., at which time a Memorial Service will be celebrated.

Interment will be in Evergreen Memorial Gardens.

Expressions of sympathy may be directed in Ella's memory to Alley Animals, P.O. Box 27487, Towson, MD 21285-7487.