Ellen L. Claiborne

Ellen Louise Claiborne February, 1952 - August 19, 2014 Resident of Parker, Colorado Holding hands with all her family, Ellen Claiborne entered God's Kingdom on August 19, 2014, after battling a rare cancer. Ellen was a beautiful, intelligent and loving woman who epitomized Grace in every way. Born in Oakland, CA, Ellen first lived in Palo Alto after her father returned from Korea, with her family eventually residing in Saratoga. Ellen was the oldest of five siblings. She graduated from Saratoga High School in 1970. Ellen attended CU Boulder where she discovered her passion for nursing and met the love of her life, Ken Claiborne. Ellen received an MS in Nurse Midwifery from CU in 1989 and later served on the faculty of the CU Certified Nurse Midwifery program. In 1998 she helped open Aurora Nurse Midwives, where she worked until 2013. Her nursing, midwifery, and teaching career spanned 40 years, touching the lives of her colleagues and patients with her clinical expertise and true kindness. In 2000, Ellen was a recipient of the Nightingale Award from the Colorado Nurses Foundation. Ellen and Ken married in 1973 and raised three sons in Parker, Colorado. The family loved the outdoors and enjoyed many backpacking trips in the Rockies. Ellen also loved sewing and quilting, books and movies, was an accomplished pianist, and a devoted Jane Austin fan. She was deeply active in the community of Joy Lutheran Church in Parker. Ellen was preceded in death by her parents, Fred J. Drinkwater III and Florence Drinkwater, her brother James Drinkwater, and her son Thomas James Claiborne. She is survived by her loving husband Ken Claiborne, her devoted sons David and Scott Claiborne, her sisters Barbara Wier (Tom) and Louise Christy (Jim), and her brother Fred Drinkwater (Cathy Chiu). A Celebration of Ellen's Life will be held Thursday, August 28, 2014, 1:30 p.m. at Joy Lutheran Church, 7051, E. Parker Hills Ct. in Parker. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to the Thomas J. Claiborne Memorial Fund, www.cufund.org/give-now (enter Tom Claiborne Memorial Scholarship Fund) -or- mail a check to CU Foundation (in memo line: Tom Claiborne Memorial Scholarship Fund), University of Colorado Foundation, 4740 Walnut Street, Boulder, CO 80301. Service Information