When Ellen Gerlitz was born in eastern Washington 100 years ago, her father ran a harness shop and her family worked odd jobs for neighbors and in town.
The guns of Verdun were booming a world away in France, but in Endicott, Washington, Ellen was just getting started.
Born on April 21, 1916 as one of three children, her family moved to nearby Garfield. She graduated salutatorian from Garfield High School in 1934, only missing out on valedictorian because she :liked to have fun.”
At The Garden Club in Bellevue last week, friends and family joined Gerlitz to ring in her triple-digit birthday, and tell stories of her youth.
Jim Gerlitz, Ellen’s son, told a story of his mother as a young girl.
“She would come into her father’s store and all the old guys would be there,” he said. “She’d say “I smell gum.” and the guys would give her a piece. One time she tried that and it didn’t work so she said “I smell a penny,” pretty soon she had a few pennies.”
When not hoodwinking her father’s customers out of candy and money, Gerlitz was always quick with a joke and to lend a helping hand. Gerlitz sang in choir and helped cook for farm workers on her uncle’s wheat farm.
As a young woman, Gerlitz played saxophone and tennis. She graduated from a two-year business program in Spokane in just one year before moving to Colfax where she met her husband El Gerlitz at a community dance.
El was protective and maybe a little jealous of Ellen’s friendly nature. The two married in 1939 and moved to Walla Walla where El worked at Hanford and Ellen gave birth to Jim in 1943 and Ron in 1946.
In 1948, the Gerlitz family moved to Yakima. They then moved to Renton and finally Bellevue in 1965, where they became charter members of the Bellevue United Methodist Church.
Her grandchildren always appreciated birthdays because even those not celebrating their own birthday got a small gift during “sack time,” Jim said.
Ellen’s younger son Ron died in 1987 of a rare illness and El died in 1991 after battling Alzheimer’s for years.
Even with the sadness, her joy in life has never diminished.
“She’s quick to smile and has a great sense of humor,” said Cheryll Davis, enrichment coordinator at The Garden Club. “People like Ellen are role models.”
While not as talkative as she was when she moved to the Bellevue retirement community in 2008, Ellen did chat with Bellevue Mayor John Stokes and was able to enjoy the cake and punch provided.
And even though she didn’t confirm it, there’s a good chance she wanted to tell people that she smelled twenty-dollar bills — just to see if the trick still worked.
