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Ella Hale dies in Loveland, Colo.


 

Ella Leona Hale, 97, of Loveland, Colo., passed away on Jan. 23, 2015, two days shy of her 98th birthday.
Ella was born on Jan. 25, 1917, the fifth of six children to George and Wilhelmina Fried in their homesteaded farmhouse in Fallon County, Eastern Montana. After graduating from Holy Rosary School of Nursing in Miles City, Mont., as a fully certified registered nurse in 1939, she married Ralph Edward Hale in Plevna, Mont., in 1940, and they shared 46 wonderful years of marriage together until his passing in 1986. She spent the majority of her 38-year nursing career as an obstetrical nurse. Ella was a highly respected member of her community in Mobridge, holding a number of positions of leadership, including Obstetrical Department Supervisor in the Mobridge Community Hospital and Sunday School teacher in the First Baptist Church.
In 1978, Ralph and Ella relocated to Loveland, and following Ralph’s passing in 1986, Ella took on a new career as pharmacy department assistant in the newly opened Loveland Walmart. In 1990, she became a store greeter and quickly became a beloved and recognized fixture to the Loveland community. The Walmart corporation recognized her dedication to service through numerous honors, including two features in its nationwide company publication in 1994 and 2003, as well as declaring the month of October 1994 “Ella Hale Month” at the Loveland Walmart. Ella was also given the honor of cutting the ribbon for two Walmart grand openings; the 1991 remodeling of the original store and, 11 years later, the official grand opening ceremony of the current Walmart Super Store.
In 2006, she was honored by the Loveland Reporter-Herald by being selected for special recognition as one of 26 “People Who Make A Difference” for 2005. In August of that year, the Walmart corporation awarded Ella her “Twenty Years of Service” recognition and five months later, on Jan. 31, 2007, at the age of 90, she retired.
Over the course of her two decades of employment at Walmart, she became recognized and beloved by countless Loveland community citizens as a sincere, warm and friendly greeter at the store’s entrance. Countless Lovelanders anticipated their visit there, knowing they would meet and exchange greetings once again with the cheerful and engaging Ella Hale.
Her many interests included handwork, sewing, knitting, charitable club work, travel, membership in the Galilee Baptist Church and its senior group, the The Elderberries, as well as enjoying the sociability and bargains provided by visits to weekend garage sales.
After a serious fall in her home in 2009, Ella became a resident of Good Samaritan Village, where she resided until her death.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph E. Hale in 1996; her younger sister, Lillian Fried in 1931; her eldest brother, Gottleib Fried in 1933; her two brothers, Emil Fried in 2007, aged 94, and William Fried in 2012, aged 100; and her sister, Otillia (Tillie) Wenz in 2013, aged 97.
She is survived by two sons, Ralph W. Hale of Loveland, and Alan E. Hale of Greeley, Colo.; three grandsons, Casey Hale of Colorado Springs, Colo., Roger Hale of Greeley and Nathan Hale of Austin, Texas; one granddaughter, Amy Hale-Knowles of Seattle, Wash.; and her 14-month-old great-grandson, Dresden Wesley Hale-Knowles, also of Seattle.
Funeral services were Held Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, at Galilee Baptist Church in Loveland.

 

 

 

 

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