Ellen Imogene Gravning

Ellen Imogene Gravning, age 96, passed away on Saturday, April 15, 2023, at her residence at Providence St. Joseph Assisted Living in Polson. Ellen was born on Oct 2, 1926, to Swedish immigrants, Hans and Helga (Lindblad) Hoglund, in Los Angeles, California, when there were still orange groves in the downtown area. She had one older brother, Ed.  She spent her childhood there, graduating from high school in 1944.

After graduation Ellen went to work for the Goodyear Rubber Company making bullet-proof fuel tanks for B17 Flying Fortresses and P-38 Lightnings. When WWll ended, she entered the cadet nursing program and graduated as a registered nurse.  She first worked at Good Samaritan Hospital and then later as an industrial nurse at North American Aviation where she met several legendary test pilots like Bob Hoover and Chuck Yeager.

In 1951, Ellen met her husband, Vernon, at a USO dance. They were married on May 10, 1952, in her parents' backyard. She gave birth to their first son, Jon, in June 1953 while Vernon was deployed to Korea. After completing his tour of duty in Korea, the family moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, where their second son, James, joined the family in September 1955, and Ellen became a full-time mother and homemaker. The family moved back to Los Angeles in 1956 and then to Fair Oaks, California, in 1959 where they spent the next 45 years.  In 2005 Ellen and Vernon moved to Seattle to be near their younger son, and then in 2013 moved to Polson to be near their older son.

 Ellen loved animals and owned dogs all her life. She was an avid gardener of vegetables and flowers. She had a wonderful smile, was kind and generous and always put the needs of others ahead of her own. She will be dearly missed by all that knew her well.

 Ellen was preceded in death by her parents, brother Ed, sister-in-law Lilly, nephew Steven and her husband of 64 years, Vernon.