Ellen Kay (Gannaway) Doherty

Ellen Kay Doherty, 78, of Idaho Falls, passed away October 31, 2019, at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.  

Ellen was born June 14, 1941, in Whittier, CA, to Louis V. Gannaway and Fern Harvin Gannaway. 
She raised two successful sons and a daughter, Bryan, Colin, and Valerie. 

Ellen spent a number of years working at the INEL in public relations and was a member of the Rad Team and Emergency Response Unit. She received various awards for outstanding excellence in her job performance and achievements. She was very fond of her co-workers (Bob S. Bonnie, Coleen, Steve, you know who you are), who also became her friends; she mentioned them often.  

In retirement, she looked forward to spending time with her grandchildren and traveling and doing yard work. To stay busy, she continued to do some part-time work, doing taxes and managing an office for two businesses and doing taxes for a few dozen people. Ellen was extremely accurate in the details of money and numbers. She was very helpful to a lot of people. She would give of her time freely.

She was also a docent at the zoo and she donated her time to take care of the giant turtles and also the Madagascar cockroaches and a handful of other animals for a number of years.

She loved education!  Ellen enjoyed traveling with a small group and judging high school debate tournaments around the country.  She bragged about judging the science fairs. If any of you remember Ellen just stop and take a second out of your day and think to yourselves, what did I learn today? Did I learn something today? Ellen would want to be remembered as " the lady who loved what she knew and shared it."

Ellen is survived by her son, Bryan Simon (Susan) of San Antonio, TX; son, Colin (Satie Narain) Simon of Torino, CA; daughter, Valerie Simons of Idaho Falls, ID; four grandchildren and one great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Louis and Fern Gannaway; and her brother, Roy Gannaway; sisters, Janet Moore and Gail Robinson.

Ellen Doherty will be missed beyond expression.
 
No services will be held for she has expressed her desire to donate her body to the Cancer Research Center to study Myelodysplastic Syndrome.