It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ellen Nichols from this world on November 9, 2023. To read her obituary, please click here.

We would like to invite you to a celebration of the life of Ellen Nichols Ward. The occasion is an opportunity for all of us to gather to remember Ellen and what she meant to us. There will be a brief ceremony, with a few words from her family and a musical performance, followed by time for all of us to share our memories of her.

We would be honored if you could join us in person or via Zoom on Saturday, January 20, 2024 from 2-4pm EST at Massey College in Toronto, ON at 4 Devonshire Place. There will be light refreshments and a cash bar for those attending in person.

Please respond by email to ellenlifecelebration@gmail.com before January 12 to let us know if you can attend and whether you will be in person (and how many will be in your party), or if you would like to attend via Zoom (in which case we will send you the link). Either way, we would love to see you there!

Graham, Aparna, Mia, and Esmé

“Steve Young’s fingernails were longer than mine, and I loved him probably because my mother never would have. He was a folk singer and one amazing guitar player. And he was the kind of guy who later named his son Jubal Lee…

He wrote a song about the road in Montgomery, where we used to park and make out when I borrowed my daddy’s car and before Steve had an apartment. It was called Woodley Road, but everyone referred to it as ‘Seven Bridges Road.’ The Eagles made it famous. But I remember the way it sounded when he wrote it, and I was the one who heard it first. I wrote out the notes for him on music notation paper. One line said ‘Sometimes there’s a part of me, has to turn from here and go.’ Steve was always singing and writing songs about leaving. But I was the one who moved on down the highway first.”

— excerpt from Remember Whose Little Girl You Are