OBITUARY FOR ELLEN E. BURCH:

Longtime local educator, musician and dog lover Ellen E. Burch has passed away. She died Thursday, June 2, 2011 at Lompoc Valley Medical Center after a protracted illness.

Ms. Burch was born 8 August 1939 in McMinnville, Oregon. She lived in Toledo, Oregon until she attended the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon where she earned her B.S. in Music Education. In her college years she was a featured "Singer On The Green" at the Oregon Shakespearian Festival during summer breaks. Upon graduation in 1961 she accepted a teaching position with the Lompoc Unified School District where she taught general music, choir, strings and math until her retirement in 2000.

She did graduate studies in music at State University College in New York, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio on a Rockefeller Foundation Grant and several universities in the U.C. system. She also attended Allan Hancock College where she received certification in Horse-Ranch Management and studied German.

She was pianist and vocalist for the Lamplighters Orchestra for eight years and also taught private voice
lessons. For five summers she did graduate studies at the Crane School of Music where she was a member of the Saratoga/Potsdam chorus which performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra in concert. In addition to music she enjoyed biking, hiking, photography, reading, working with her Belgian Sheepdogs, writing and gardening.

She was a member of the American Red Cross Disaster Team, Animal Protection Institute, Belgian Sheepdog Club of America, C.A.P.A., Defenders of Wildlife, Delta Zeta Sorority, Santa Ynez Valley Humane Society and St. Mary's Episcopal Church. As a teen she was a member of Rainbow for Girls.

She was preceded in death by her brother in May of 1999, her mother in August of 1999 and her father
in November of 2001.
She is survived by her nephews Ron Burch and Brad Burch of Woodburn, Oregon, nephew Brian Burch of Anacortes, Washington, niece Melanie Karp of Lake Oswego, Oregon, and sister-in-law Loretta Burch of Woodburn, Oregon.

Memorial services will be 10 a.m. Saturday, July 30th, 2011 at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 2800 Harris Grade Road in Lompoc. Ms. Burch was interred with the rest of her family in Salem, Oregon on Friday, June 10, 2011.

Although Ms. Burch loved flowers, she has requested that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to
C. A. P. A. , 1501 West Central Avenue, Lompoc, CA, 93436-2734.