Ellen Odegaard died at home on September 21 after suffering from Alzheimers for many years.
She was born in 1926 in Niagra Falls, N.Y. and moved to Atlanta and then to Gainesville after marrying her husband, John, whom she met in Chicago.
She founded the Arts Council in Gainesville in 1977 and was its executive director for five years. Ellen was the first recipient of the Gainesville Times Golden Gavel Award in 1981, honored for her work through the Arts Council. She was also the executive director of Volunteer Gainesville, and later helped found the Elachee Nature Science Center.
No service is planned. Ellen's ashes will be scattered in Oregon at a later date.
(A complete obituary is posted on the AccessNorthGa.com's Obituaries Page.)
http://accesswdun.com/article/2011/10/243190