Ella Winans

Obituary of Ella Winans

On August 29, 2011 Ella Mae Kelly Winans passed away peacefully at home, with her family by her side. Born on April 30, 1923 in Soda Springs, Idaho to Conrad Andrew Kelly and Kathryn Pratt Kelly, Ella Mae always wanted to fly. In fact, growing up with her two sisters Barbara and Virginia, Kelly dreamed of becoming an aeronautical engineer. She attended the southern branch of the University of Idaho at Pocatello from 1939-1941, and when the war broke out she began work with the United States Weather Bureau. Kelly spent five years as a weather observer, traveling the northwest on emergency details. Her assignments often included airport posts, and she was fond of flying little Piper Cubs. But soon she was ready to move on. "I had aspirations to become an engineer, and I was going to go back to school at theUniversity of Washington engineering school," she said. Kelly said her advisors there told her that she would have no trouble earning her degree, but that, in the field, her work probably wouldn't be taken seriously because she was a woman. "I feel like I was born too soon," she said, "but that's how it was back then. I'm really pleased women now have a chance to pursue things like that. They're showing themselves to be quite capable." In 1949 Kelly graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.S. in retailing from theschool of Business Administration. One year later she received a Master's degree in retailing from New York University, where she earned the alumnae Club Key Pin for Outstanding Woman in her graduate class. She applied her skills at large New York department stores and worked in stock and bond brokerages in the city. After her time in New York City, Kelly moved to Portland, OR where she met her future-husband Ronald Winans on a blind date. Ron proposed on New Year's Eve 1953, and the happy couple were married that May in Pocatello, the home of Kelly's parents. Shortly after their marriage the newlyweds where transferred to Boise where Kelly gave birth to their daughter Kathy in February 1955. "When we came to Boise," Kelly said, "I though I might teach night classes. I wanted to teach business at Boise Junior College (now BSU), but they told me they needed a math teacher. I had taken a lot of math classes along the way, and that's where my teaching career started." Kelly was teaching a few night classes for a couple of years before a regular math professor broke his contract just days before classes were to begin. She got the call, arranged for babysitters, and taught math from that day forward. "I started with freshman math, remedial math classes and algebra, and taught calculus, differential equations and statistics," she said. Her most challenging experience as a teacher was trying to teach calculus to a blind student. One phase of the course dealt with finding the volume of solid objects and unusual shapes. "This was hard because most of the work was written on the board," Kelly said. "But we got through it, and the student did very well." Other students gained valuable insights into the subject through her teaching methods geared toward the blind student. But for some students, mathematics was more of a chore than a clear-cut educational gain. "Some students said I was their best teacher ever," Kelly said, "while others would say things like, 'I could never learn nothin' from a woman.'" But many of Kelly's former students have gone on to become highly successful bank executives, doctors and teachers. "I have a very successful lawyer friend who told me he would recommend law students be required to take algebra," Kelly said. Besides guiding students through the intricacies of equations and number relationships, Kelly was the advisor of one of BSU's early service groups, the Valkyries, for about 15 years. Kelly was also a member of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society, a key teacher's organization. Kelly and Ron remained very active after her retirement in 1983. Kelly was always an active woman, and enjoyed bowling, tennis, and golf as a member of Hillcrest country club. She was also heavily involved in an investment club where she put her mathematical mind to good use. The couple traveled extensively, enjoying long voyages to Australia and New Zealand, much of Europe and the Scandinavian countries, as well as the US. Kelly is survived by her husband of 58 years, Ron, and her daughter Kathy Adolphsen (Mark), and two grandsons, Paul and John of Seattle, WA. She was preceded in death by her parents, and her sisters, Barbara Jean Harrison and Virginia Anne Cannard. The family would like to thank the nurses and caregivers of Touchmark Home Health Care and Align Hospice for their continual care and concern over the last several weeks. A memorial service celebrating Kelly's life will be held at First Presbyterian Church of Boise (950 W State St. Boise, ID 83702) on Thursday, September 1st at 2:00 in the afternoon. Donations can be made in Kelly's honor to The Boise State University Foundation, Ella Mae (Kelly) and Ronald Winans Endowed Scholarship (2225 University Dr Boise, ID 83206).
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