Grace (Soffer Nagy) Ellenberger
Grace (Soffer Nagy) Ellenberger of Butler went to be with the Lord on Dec. 14, 2013.
Born in West Sunbury, Pa., she was the daughter of the late Louis and Elizabeth Soffer, who owned a 100-acre farm with her grandparents, aunt and uncle. She grew up with three sisters and a cousin, who they regarded as a fourth sister, in an idyllic rural setting.
She graduated from West Sunbury Vocational High School, where she had developed into a gifted pianist and was the class poet. She married Gus Nagy, with whom she had a son and a daughter.
She was the co-owner and bookkeeper for their company, Gus Nagy Trucking, until Mr. Nagy's passing in 1966.
In 1967, she married her beloved husband, Dick Ellenberger of Butler. When they combined households, Mrs. Ellenberger received an organ, and due to her keyboard skills, was able to teach herself to play it. This new skill led her to a new job as the manager of the C.C. Mellor Organ Store on South Main Street in Butler, where she not only sold pianos and organs, but taught others to play, and she gave lessons for many years.
When that store closed, she became the manager of the Fulton Piano and Organ store at the Clearview Mall, and was the only female manager in the company during that time. Her joy for music was contagious, and led her to consistently be in the top 10 of company salespersons.
After retiring, she continued to play the piano and organ at the Faith United Presbyterian Church, where she and her husband were longtime members, and where Mrs. Ellenberger formerly served as a Deacon.
Over the past 20 years, she received 13 awards for poetry from the National Library of Poetry and the International Library of Poetry. Her poems have been published in eight books. Poetry was the outlet that helped her overcome her sorrow at the loss of her husband, Dick, in December 1993.
She will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered by her family for her kind heart and generous spirit.
She is survived by a son, L. Donald Nagy of Butler; a daughter, June Nagy Ferguson and son-in-law, Bill, of Oakmont; a grandson, Donald G. Nagy and his wife, Kristie; a great-granddaughter, Sierra Nagy of Butler, and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her sisters, Elizabeth Chaff of West Sunbury, Anna Kara of New Jersey, Velma Hayden of West Sunbury and cousin Priscilla Barath of Vestaburg.
ELLENBERGER — The friends of Grace Ellenberger, who died Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013, will be received at the Thompson-Miller Funeral Home, 124 E. North St., Butler, from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday. Memorial services will follow directly thereafter at noon. The Rev. Don Aull of the Faith United Presbyterian Church will officiate.Information and a private guest book are available at www.thompson-miller.com.
