Ellen Lee Harden

ELLEN LEE HARDEN, 1933-2019 Ellen Lee Harden, who loved the arts and travel and devoted herself to sharing her passions with others, died November 30, three days shy of her 86th birthday. Ellen, of San Bruno, California, raised three sons along with her late husband, Howard Johnson Harden Jr., who died February 8, 1997. She leaves behind loving daughters-in-law, six grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. “I really don't have words adequate to describe all that Mom means to me, how she shaped me, how much her family loves her," said her eldest son, Mark Harden, of Centennial, Colorado. "She will be in my heart forever. I've never met a finer person. She lived a long, full life pursuing her interests and loving her family.” “She lived for the times she spent with family, friends and her wonderful museum colleagues," said her son Bob Harden, of San Francisco. "He passion was for art and the many stories surrounding it; her joy was in the storytelling.” “Mom was the spark of my childhood," said her youngest son, Scott Harden, of Pasadena, California. "While my dad worked long hours to provide financially to the family, Mom was always there to see me off to school, help me with my homework, sew the patches on my Scout uniform and bring me a new model airplane or action figure toy from the store.” Ellen died after a series of cardiac arrests at Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, Colorado, following a stroke a few days earlier. She passed away while visiting Mark and daughter-in-law Linda Kotsaftis for the Thanksgiving holiday. She was born Ellen Lee Glenn on December 3, 1933, in Easton, Maryland. Her parents were Dayton Wheeler Glenn, who died when she was a child in 1937, and the former Anna Moncure Brinckloe, who passed away in 1965. Her mother, who had been previously married to William Henry Stewart III, later married Charles Oliver Bailey in 1939. Ellen grew up in various locations in Maryland, Ohio and Maine. She attended Seton High School in Baltimore, housed in a 1908 building that’s now part of Johns Hopkins University. She later studied at what is now the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. Her future husband was also a student there. They were married on December 26, 1954, and made a home in California, where Howard had been stationed in the U.S. Air Force. In San Francisco, Howard first took a production job with television station KPIX, then worked for decades at another station, KGO, as a director and producer, retiring in 1992. Their first son, Mark Wheeler Harden, was born December 22, 1955, followed by Robert Howard Harden, on February 22, 1958. In 1963, the family moved to nearby San Bruno, and a third son, Scott Wetherington Harden, was born May 11, 1972. Ellen pursued a variety of part-time occupations and volunteer work, in addition to raising her family. She was a proofreader for the former South San Francisco Enterprise-Journal newspaper, founded and helped operate a home-wallpapering business, taught sewing classes for Singer Corp., and worked in customer-service quality control for the Macy's department store chain. As a volunteer, she was a leader of the Golden Gate Kindergarten Association Auxiliary in support of the Phoebe A. Hearst Preschool Learning Center in San Francisco. Ellen's lifelong passions were for the arts and travel, which led to many years of service, starting in 1979, as a docent for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco at the organization's M.H. de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and Legion of Honor museum in Lincoln Park. Said her son Bob: "Her time spent with the museum was among the dearest and most enduring loves of her life." For years, she led docent tours and gave talks at the FAMSF's museums, and right up until her death she drove to various points across the San Francisco Bay Area to deliver art lectures at libraries, senior centers and other venues, most recently talking about the Legion of Honor's 2019-20 exhibition of the works of French painter James Tissot. “I could always count on Ellen to offer insightful and well-considered advice,” John Buchanan, then the FAMSF’s director, said in 2009, when Ellen had completed two years as chair of the museums’ Docent Council. “She knows what the public wants and how to give it to them.” Ellen’s love of sewing came into play during her art lectures. “I will never forget the wonderful costumes that she made to wear at each of her talks. The most recent was a red bolero with ball fringe on it to match James Tissot's 'Portrait de Mlle L. L.'," said Carol Porter, the Docent Council's Art Talks chair. "Everyone who knew Ellen commented on her humor, enthusiasm and her generous support of fellow docents.” Ellen was chosen in 2009 to be co-chair of the 2013 biennial National Docent Symposium, held in San Francisco. She worked tirelessly to help plan the event along with co-chairs Cheryl Bancroft and Mina Shea, and spoke at a forum at the symposium on challenges facing contemporary-art museums. Ellen frequently traveled to Europe, with her husband before his death and later with family and friends, in tour groups, and sometimes by herself. She visited Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Turkey and other lands, with museums, galleries and cultural landmarks always on her itinerary. “Into her 70s and 80s, Mom was happy to grab a baguette and plant herself in a park in Paris," said Mark. "She was a sophisticated lady, but she took delight in simple things.” In 2012, she served as the resident art expert and lecturer on an Earthbound Expeditions tour of Spain and France entitled "An Art Lovers Journey: In Pursuit Of Pablo," visiting several places associated with the great Spanish artist's life and work, from Barcelona to Paris. “Mom just loved people, of all colors, shapes and sizes, and she made dear lifelong friends with everyone," said Scott. "Her ability to deliver witty commentary on just about any subject was unrivaled. She made a real difference in the hearts of those who appreciate art.” In 2017 came Ellen's final overseas journey, a cruise along canals and down the Danube River from Nuremberg, Germany, through Austria to Budapest, Hungary, with Mark and Linda. She previously visited the art galleries of Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico, with them. When she wasn't talking about art or traveling, she would take in the opera, concerts, plays and movies, and she loved socializing with friends, celebrating each others' birthdays. And she frequently visited her grandchildren, who called her Nana. Ellen also enjoyed traveling to see her nieces and nephews and their families on the East Coast and visiting her childhood haunts in Maryland. In addition to her parents and husband, Ellen was preceded in death by her younger sister, Joanna Moncure Glenn, of Wilmington, Delaware, who died in 2016, and her brother, John Wheeler Glenn, of Baltimore, who passed away in 2007. A half-brother, William Henry Stewart IV, died in 2008. In addition to her three sons, Ellen leaves behind her daughters-in-law, Linda Kotsaftis of Centennial and Sora Kim of Pasadena; and grandchildren Mackenzie Harden of Brooklyn, Hannah Young of Denver, Howard Harden of San Francisco, Robert Harden of San Francisco, Autumn Harden of Pasadena and Yura Harden of Pasadena. Her many nieces and nephews include her sister Joanna's children Jeffrey Schlerf and his wife Erin, Rodd Schlerf and his wife Janis, Neal Glenn and his wife Krista, and Susan Krukiel and her husband John. Her brother Johnny's children include Julia Burns-Bosch and her husband Alan. Ellen also is survived by her husband’s cousins Ann Raymer and Jean Taylor of North Carolina. Ellen’s sons and daughters-in-law are hosting a Celebration of Life on Sunday, March 1, from noon to 3:30 p.m. at the Piazzoni Murals Room of the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco. There is pay garage parking nearby and also limited street parking. Museum information: deyoung.famsf.org/ . In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Ellen’s name to support the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. For details, go online to deyoung.famsf.org/give .