Ella Clowser Awmiller, 92 of Otis, passed away at her home on April 15, 2011. A Funeral Service will be held Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Otis. Interment will follow at Otis Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Otis Volunteer Fire Department, the First Presbyterian Church of Otis, or to the Otis Cemetery.
Elizabeth Shockey (Clowser) Awmiller, known to us as "Ella", was born in Casper, Wyoming on May 30, 1918 to Moses M. Shockey and Bessie Edna
(Goode) Shockey. Ella is a 6th generation granddaughter to Daniel Boone through her mother's lineage. Ella was the 3rd child of seven siblings.
Ella's parents traveled all over the country; one school she attended was in Pendleton, Oregon where she was a champion state runner. She dreamed of being in the Olympics one day, but bad luck hit her and she was severely burned and wore bandages for over a year. Ella received her high school diploma and some college in Colorado.
Donald Clowser met Ella and they were married in 1935. They were blessed with seven children: Marjorie (Mickey), William (Billy, Linda, Pauline, Phyllis, Donald (Donnie), and Bonnie .
In 1947, a home in Otis was purchased and Ella has lived in the same house for 63 years. Ella served as a room mother at the schools for fourteen years and had children in school for thirty-seven years.
Donald died in 1983 after suffering from an accident which occurred while working for the county a year or so before. At this time, Ella was working in the drug store. Together they had many good times and lots of rough times, but they did okay.
Dancing became a favorite hobby of Ella's after years of being a widow. This is where she met Robert Awmiller and they were married on October 19, 1996. They were very happy and spent many hours and days of fun time with golfing, dancing, and beautiful trips. Robert died of a heart attack five months after they were married on April 8, 1997.
Ella was an active member of the Otis Presbyterian Church for sixty-four years and a Deacon for three years. She also taught Sunday School when Donald and she lived in Wiggins.
If you needed painting, wall-papering or decorating done, Ella was the one to call. She helped many people in Washington/Yuma Counties and always had a list of jobs to be done-she even painted a barn or two.
Ella loved helping others, wrote notes, card, and letters often to loved ones, assisted the Washington County Sheriff's office and Social Service when they were transporting women to Denver or Pueblo. She helped with the Caring Ministries in Akron, made over four hundred quilts and gave them to homeless shelters along the Front Range. One of the most pleasant times for Ella was when she was playing Pinochle and Bridge-all of those ladies were very special in her life. She also belonged to the Akron Golf
Club and helped at the Senior Center. Ella made quilts, tea towels, made
many occasional cakes, and fancy work for gifts; which she gave abundantly. She belonged to the sewing club in Akron, she enjoyed being in the Akron Does Drive and was named a "Doe of the Year". She made a quilt for the Elks to raffle off as a money-making project; which sold for $450.00. She was also a state officer for the March of Dimes, entertained at nursing homes around the area and visited a lot of patients in the hospitals. She loved people and she loved giving and receiving hugs.
After learning she had cancer and had recovered from surgery, Ella organized several teams for the Cancer Walk-a-thon and raised the most money of the teams. She was 80 years old at that time. She also walked for M.S. At Estes Park, danced for Fiber Myalgia and other programs of need.
Have you ever eaten Ella's wonderful bread and rolls, how many of you have tea towels or quilts she has given you?
Ella was preceded in death by her parents, Moses and Bessie Shockey, brothers-Ray, Donald at Pearl Harbor, and Bill Shockey. sisters: Jannie Standley, Hazel Hirsch, and Mary Towell. Also preceding her was her husband, Donald Clowser and a 13-month old daughter-Pauline, Grandson-Paul and many nephews, nieces, and loved ones including her second husband, Robert Awmiller.
Left to celebrate the beautiful soul that she was are:
Marjorie (Mickey) Meester of Ft. Lupton, CO.
William (Billy) Clowser and special friend, Charlene of Palisade, CO.
Linda Chandler of Sarasota, Florida
Phyllis Dahlberg and husband Richard of Boulder, CO.
Donald (Donnie) Clowser and wife Dolores (Dee) of Lake Tahoe.
Bonnie Junker and husband Robert of Thornton, CO.
Ella has 14 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and 13 great-great-grandchildren.




Ella wrote lots of notes and thoughts on colorful scraps of paper to be included in her obituary; besides what you have heard, here are a few in her own words:
One of Ella's first memories was when she was five years old and her grandmother Goode had died. In those days a body of the deceased never left the house where the funeral was held. The casket was at the West window and relatives and friends gathered to mourn together and cry. She couldn't understand all this 'cause she was taught when we died we got to go to a wonderful place in heaven. So, why was everyone crying? Was it because they didn't get to go?
Ella's brother, Donald was killed at Pearl Harbor when he was nineteen years old.
One of the roughest times the family had was when Donald got hurt while on the job working for the county. The family made it through without asking for any help. It was a good thing they had lots of groceries, canned fruits, and vegetables in the basement. Our family all did the best they could and got by with what they had. The older kids had jobs so they helped out by paying the lights and water bills. No one complained, they just wanted Dad to get well again.
She did a lot of golfing after the age of 75. She loved it and she was the oldest person on the course. Wand Severn was her golf partner.
Ella entered a talent contest and did a tap dance. She was one of the winners and received $50.00. Later they asked her to do tap dancing for nursing homes. All of her life she has made a lot of true friends.
Ella was a very courageous woman and fought a good battle to the end. She never complained and even though she was in a lot of pain, she would not let anyone know how bad she felt. She was always thinking of other people and what would make them happy and bring them joy. Her legacy will live through all that knew and loved her and inspire us to be better human beings. She wanted to be like Jesus and have everyone love her and I believe she got her wish.


Yes, we can all agree, Ella had a great run. The song has ended, but the melody lingers on. (Irving Berlin).
She battled her cancer, typical stories and when faced with her imminent mortality, summed up the situation succinctly by stating "Well I had a good run!"
Her last words to all of you would be "I love you more".