Ellen Joan (Beshgetoorian) Skill

Ellen Joan (Beshgetoorian) Skill

Ellen Joan (Beshgetoorian) Skill, age 53, of Mechanicsburg, passed away peacefully at home and surrounded by her loving family on Saturday, July 8, 2023.  Ellen was born on Sunday, August 17, 1969, in Philadelphia to the late Harry Jasper Beshgetoorian Jr and Barbara Joan (Catteral) Beshgetoorian.

Ellen’s survivors include her husband of 29 years, Kenneth Robert Skill; her son: Timothy Andrew Skill; her brother: Harry Jasper Beshgetoorian III and his wife, Amy Tilghman Beshgetoorian; her niece and nephew: Laina Marie Beshgetoorian and Jared Owen Beshgetoorian.

Ellen first and foremost was a disciple of Jesus.  She became a Christian and accepted Jesus into her heart in her youth when she attended summer camp at Camp Kirkwood.  This changed her life and purpose for living.  It allowed her to become the person that we all knew:  the loving wife, adoring mother, caring daughter, loyal friend, and dedicated worker.  Her personality was such that she could make friends easily, be an encouragement to friends, be competitive at board and card games (she liked to win) and had a nice loud laugh (cackle some would say).  It is fair to say that she had a fun-loving personality.

Ellen met Ken at a maple sugaring weekend retreat at Camp Kirkwood.  Her first date with Ken was at the Philadelphia Flower Show. Shortly thereafter she told her mom that she was going to marry Ken, although Ken did not know this yet!  Sure enough, after a time of dating, Ken popped the question right before Christmas, and Ellen and Ken were married on October 16, 1993, for a period of 29 years.  She was a loyal and loving wife and was an encouragement to Ken.  She supported Ken’s career choices and ended up moving from Bethlehem, PA to Loveland, CO, to Mechanicsburg, PA.  She was an excellent cook and baker, having learned from her mother and grandmothers, and she was not afraid to experiment with new dishes and desserts.

Ellen’s pride and joy was the birth of Tim and having him in her life for 23 years. Ellen was a stay-at-home mom who thoroughly enjoyed being a mom……. she lived for it!  When Tim was growing up, she wanted to be involved in all aspects of his life, give him the opportunity to have varied experiences, and was a constant encouragement to him.  Ellen was a mentor to Tim in grade school.  She had themed birthday parties when Tim was young, such as Pirates and Star Wars.  She supported Tim’s sports involvement and did not intentionally miss a game or meet. She beamed when Tim graduated from high school and then college and started his working career.

Ellen was an energetic and dedicated worker for worthy causes.  She was instrumental in starting a MOPS group at WSEF Church.  At CLA Church she co-coordinated mission trip fundraisers.  At WSCA Christian school she worked hard at fundraising and making the Race for Education a success, as well as being a co-producer of one of the annual spring musicals.

Ellen was a dedicated daughter, giving support to her aging father and mom.  She was recovering from breast cancer surgery and treatments, but still jumped right in to help her dad when he became critically ill, and had her mom move in for a time when her dad was in a nursing home, and after he died.  Ellen had a special father-daughter bond with her dad and liked to work on projects together and crack jokes.

Ellen loved to be out and about doing things with friends.  She was known for sharing timely wisdom and faithful support, and she made every person she met feel seen and loved.  Ellen will always be remembered for her infectious smile, loud belly laughs and unending joy. She loved the mountains, the beach, scrapbooking, Starbucks runs, board games, and instigating mischief with her friends.

Ellen enjoyed traveling to places far and near, with the mountains in Colorado always a favorite destination.  She loved hiking in national parks including Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Acadia, and the Smoky Mountains.  Her trip to Paris, France gave her a taste for international travel, and she was hopeful to make more trips to England and other European destinations.  Of course, she also loved the beach, especially vacations with the Griswold’s to places like Topsail Beach and Myrtle Beach.  She would sit at the water’s edge for hours talking to friends or just enjoying the sight and sound of the waves crashing, as well as swimming in the ocean. She was in her happy place!

Ellen loved photography and scrapbooking.  She would rarely be without a camera during special events and vacations.  She became especially interested in nature photography and continued to hone her skills to become more proficient at it.  She would then create scrap books of various events to document them.  Of, course the social aspect of creating the scrapbooks at scrapbook events was something Ellen greatly enjoyed. It is no surprise that most of the pictures in the scrapbooks are of Tim.

Ellen loved music.  She played the flute in high school and was in the marching band.  She attended Shenandoah University and studied music therapy.  She played in, and directed, a bell choir at church.  She loved listening to orchestral music and various Christian artists, as well as attending concerts.

Despite enduring a long medical journey that ended in constant pain caused by the cancer, Ellen's faith in Jesus never wavered, and she always pointed all who loved her back to Christ, who sustained her through many challenges. In the midst of her own struggle, she always wanted to pray for others and offer an encouraging word.  Ellen will be greatly missed by her family and friends, but we rejoice that she now rests with the One she so deeply loved, and we look forward to one day seeing her smile, hearing her talk and laugh, seeing her walking and running, and being able to give her a big hug.  Ellen, we do wholeheartedly believe one of your final comments “I Love You, I Will See You Soon” is the truth, by God’s grace!

All are welcome to join Ellen’s family at her gathering of family and friends on Sunday, July 30, 2023, from 11:30 a.m. until time of her celebration of life service at 12:30 p.m. at Buhrig’s Gathering Place, 25 East Main Street, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055, (717) 766-3421 (next to Buhrig Funeral Home & Crematory); with Mr. Dan Steinfield, Head of School at Delaware County Christian School, officiating.  Ellen’s family invites everyone to join them for a time of food and fellowship immediately following the service.  Cremation was private.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in celebration of Ellen’s life can be made to ALS Association, Greater Philadelphia Chapter, 321 Norristown Road, Suite 260, Ambler, PA 19002, www.alsphiladelphia.org or to UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, UPMC Cancer Pavilion, Suite 1 B, 5150 Center Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, www.donation.upmc.com, Cancer Center Patient Assistance Fund.

Ellen’s family has entrusted her care to Buhrig Funeral Home & Crematory in Mechanicsburg, (717) 766-3421.  Read Ellen’s full obituary, view her memorial video and portrait, offer condolences and sympathy, share stories and memories, upload photographs and videos, light a candle and sign her official guest book by visiting Buhrig.com.