Ella B Washington was born one of five children on November 19, 1922 in Clarksville, Tennessee.

 

She was baptized in the back woods of Tennessee at a young age.

 

She moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana to be with her brothers and sisters. Upon her arrival to Fort Wayne, she lived with Ms. Mattie Goings.  She attended Turner Chapel AME Church with her and later joined. Some years later she moved her membership to Wings of Deliverance when it was located on Wayne Street under the leadership of the late Bishop Jimmie Clark.

 

She retired from Fort Wayne State Developmental Center after 30 years of service.

 

At the age of 97,  just 10 days shy of her 98th birthday, she passed away on November 9, 2020 at Coventry Meadows.

 

Mother Washington was preceded in death by her parents, Sam and Ora Ransom; siblings, Ervin Ransom, Mable Williams, Lorene Martin and Erma Ira Martin; son-in-law, Curly Underwood and a grandson, Walter Humphrey.

 

Left to cherish her memory are her daughter, Shelby J Underwood; son, Thomas Ransom, eight grandchildren, a host of great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.