Ellen Perdue Womack, 96, passed away peacefully Wednesday, July 10, 2024. She was born in Gastonia, NC in 1928, to Charles and Jewel Perdue. She attended public schools in Gastonia and graduated from Converse College in Spartanburg, SC. Ellen married the love of her life, Joseph Leeder Womack, Jr. and together they moved to the Peninsula in 1957.

Ellen's greatest joy was in the raising of her three children and supporting them in all their endeavors, but she was also a very active member of our community.  Ellen was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Hampton, where she was an elder, served as president of the Women of the Church, and taught Sunday school. She was a member of the Women's' Club of Hampton and past president of the Riverdale Garden Club. As a member of PEO Chapter A, she served as president and held various offices including chairperson of the bazaar for many years. In addition, Ellen was a second-generation member of the Hampton DAR where she served as Regent and held other offices in that organization. In her leisure time she was a patron of the arts locally.

Ellen was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph L. Womack, Jr.; survivors include her children, Catherine Turner and husband, Mark, Charles Womack and wife, Katharine, and Lee Francella and husband, Gary; seven grandchildren, Eric and Ryan Turner, Lindsay Turner Seddon and husband, Thomas, Caitlin and Alyssa Womack, Layne Francella and fiancée, Kylie, and Olivia Francella; and two great-grandchildren, Emma and Charlotte Seddon.

A memorial service will be held at 2 PM on Saturday, July 27th at The Chesapeake, 955 Harpersville Rd., Newport News, followed by a reception.

The family would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to the caregivers at The Chesapeake for the tender care they provided.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church of Hampton, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Donor Services, PO Box 22324, New York, NY 10087 or Cottey College, Attention IA, 1000 W. Austin Blvd, Nevada, MO 64772.

Crossing the Bar

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have cross'd the bar.