Ellen Marie Pettit

Ellen Marie Pettit (age 75), a resident of Albuquerque, NM since 1971, was born on January 13, 1943 in Brooklyn, NY and passed away on April 2, 2018. She is survived by her loving husband, Richard; their two children, William Pettit of El Paso, TX and Elizabeth Chadwick and husband Nelson of Placitas, NM; two grandchildren, Anika Pettit and Landon Pettit of El Paso, TX; her sister Marie von Glahn of New York; and many nieces, nephews and cousins, most of whom reside on the East Coast. Ellen was preceded in death by her parents, Sylvester and Kathryn Tormey. She was born and raised in Brooklyn and Long Island, NY. Prior to her marriage in 1966, Ellen attended CF Young Business School in New York and took great satisfaction in working as a legal secretary on Wall Street and then for General Motors in Uptown Manhattan in their Public Relations Department. Following her marriage to Richard, the couple lived in Ithaca, NY where Richard earned a Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell, and Ellen worked as a secretary in the University Counsel’s Office.

After raising the couple’s two children, Ellen earned an undergraduate degree in Organizational Psychology from the College of Santa Fe and later a Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) from New Mexico Highlands University. She was an active volunteer assisting Annunciation Catholic Church and School and spent 18 years in various roles supporting the Albuquerque Chapter of the student exchange program American Field Service (AFS). In addition, the Pettit family hosted several foreign students, each of whom remains dear to their family today, especially Hilde Wuyts and family in Belgium and Guilhemette Desmarets and family in France. Ellen’s professional career included working as an MSW/LISW Social Worker for Presbyterian Home Health Care, for the Presbyterian Hospital Hospice Program and finally as a School Social Worker for Albuquerque Public Schools. Throughout her life Ellen enjoyed entertaining, camping, reading, knitting, academic studies, and sewing, as well as the many years of US and foreign travel she and her husband enjoyed together. The family wants to express its appreciation for the warm, caring and loving staff at La Vida Llena in Healthcare who supported both Richard and Ellen.

Family and friends may visit Monday, April 9, 2018, from 4:00-6:00 p.m., at FRENCH – Wyoming. Rosary will be recited Tuesday, April 10, 2018, 8:00 a.m., followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 8:30 a.m., both at Our Lady of the Annunciation Parish, 2621 Vermont NE. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Casa Angelica, Daughters of Charity of Canossa, 5629 Isleta Blvd. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105 or www.casaangelica.org/donations.