Monajo Lee Ellsworth
Dec. 15, 1934-May 15, 2024
Palo Alto, California

Monajo was born in Moore Haven,Florida on December 15, 1934 to Venice Mae Swango and James Acey Lee. Monajo graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Florida State and a Master’s degree in Child Development from Brigham Young University. Monajo met Orval Telford Ellsworth while at BYU and they were wed in the Manti Temple on December 29, 1959. Married for 51 years until her beloved Orval passed in 2011. Together they blessed the lives of their children Marie, Ann, Michelle and John, 13 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

Monajo loved dancing, singing with her autoharp and weaving on her looms. She was also passionate about the arts from a child-development standpoint and she made sure her children all had lessons in the performing and visual arts. She earned her pilot’s license while still in her teens and loved flying her small plane off the canal banks in central Florida.

A self-described “people person,” Monajo loved to make friends and hear people’s stories. She had a private practice as a marriage and family counselor and was wonderful at keeping in touch with her friends and family. She was an avid foodie and enjoyed cooking, baking and bringing her family and communities together around a delicious meal. And no table was complete without a flower arrangement, grown in her garden, where she loved to plant and nurture her beautiful surroundings.

Monajo passed away on May 15, 2024. Her last days were spent peacefully with her children near and her bed arranged so she could see the flowers blooming in the yard. Her magnificent spirit lives on in the many lives she has touched.