Category Archives: Tributes

Carved In Stone

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Ellen Ross

Author’s Note: This post is dedicated to all our fathers. Today, May seventh, is the one year anniversary of our dad’s death. This is the stone that has just been put up to mark his grave. You’ll notice the words … Continue reading →

Posted in Grandparents, Memoir, Tributes | 22 Comments

Mistletoe

Posted on December 25, 2014 by Ellen Ross

FROM ALL OF US HERE AT LETTER FROM ELBA. MAY YOUR DAYS BE MERRY AND BRIGHT.

Posted in Memoir, Tributes | 14 Comments

Annie

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Ellen Ross

Author’s Note: This post is dedicated to Melissa Smith Ross. Another beautiful dancer. Can a little girl from a small town in Sweden find fame and fortune in Hollywood and end up going toe to toe dancing and singing with … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Music, New Trier High School, pop culture, Theater, Tributes | 13 Comments

Cornerstone

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Ellen Ross

Letter From Elba Announcement. Dear readers, for the next two weeks I will be playing hooky. I am skipping town and heading West. In the course of my travels I hope to see some old pals, catch up with a Cali … Continue reading →

Posted in Memoir, Teachers, Tributes | 12 Comments

Let George Do It.

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Ellen Ross

My sister-in-law Mary Lu has an unforgettable birthday. 1/1. (And now you’ll all remember it, too.) For this year’s gift, I wanted to buy her a tree in New York City. You know, from Bette Midler’s plant-a-tree foundation. I thought … Continue reading →

Posted in Crosswords, Memoir, Movies, pop culture, Theater, Tributes | 30 Comments

Lest We Forget

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Ellen Ross

“Did you have a nice Memorial Day, Mrs. Ross?” Greg, one of the engineers here in my building, asked me as I breezed in last Monday night. The Men In My Life Sidebar: I live in a Wirtz building. For … Continue reading →

Posted in Memoir, Tributes | 34 Comments

Breakfast in Bed

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Ellen Ross

Author’s Note: On behalf of the entire Roffe family- my mother, my brother Kenny and my sister-in-law Mary Lu, and our children- Natasha and Zach Tofias, Nick and Melissa Ross, Greg and Ashlee Roffe, Andrew Roffe, Matthew Roffe, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Memoir, Tributes | 7 Comments

With A Song In His Heart

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Ellen Ross

Our beloved father, Benjamin Roffe, died yesterday- Wednesday, May seventh. He would have been ninety-five on October twenty-third. He went in his sleep- suddenly and painlessly. A good death. He deserved it. For the last eight years he had been … Continue reading →

Posted in Tributes | 46 Comments

Girl Crush

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Ellen Ross

This post is dedicated to Joan Himmel Freeman. Stylish, spirited and kind- and my forever girl crush. I don’t get crushes on my own sex often. But when I fall, I fall hard. And right now I’ve had a coup … Continue reading →

Posted in Fashion, pop culture, Tributes | 8 Comments

Act Two

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Ellen Ross

Tonight at New York’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre, a new play, Act One, opens. It is the adaptation of playright Moss Hart’s famous show business autobiography and it stars Tony Shaloub. Act One has often been called “The Bible of Broadway.” … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Memoir, pop culture, Theater, Tributes | 10 Comments