November 18, 2004

Ellen Meloy - Bluff, Utah — Former Helena resident Ellen Meloy, writer, artist, and naturalist, died Thursday, Nov. 4, 2004. Ellen lived with her husband, Mark Meloy, in a house they built together above her beloved San Juan River in Bluff, Utah. All who knew Ellen grieve the loss of this remarkable woman and her endless curiosity and whimsical humor.

The Boston Globe described Ellen Meloy's writing as "spirited and intelligent, as vivid and vibrant as the land itself is dry and spare." Her books Raven's Exile and The Last Cheater's Waltz earned many awards including the Utah Book Award and the Writer's Award from the Whiting Foundation. Her most recent book The Anthropology of Turquoise was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction. Ellen's commentaries on her desert home were a frequent feature on Utah Public Radio.

She was born to California natives Lyle and Patricia Ditzler on June 21, 1946, the only sister to Kirk, Grant, and John. After graduating from high school in London and studying in Italy and France, Ellen earned her bachelor of arts degree with high honors from Goucher College in Maryland in 1969. Later she moved to Montana and earned a master of science degree in environmental studies from the University of Montana in 1979.

Shortly thereafter, Ellen came to Helena where she worked for the Montana Environmental Information Center and then the Office of Public Instruction. In 1985, Ellen married Helena native Mark Meloy at Crow Creek Falls in the Elkhorn Mountains and became a much-loved member of the Meloy clan.

In 1989, Mark became a river ranger in Desolation and Gray Canyons on Utah's Green River. Seven seasons together floating the river inspired Raven's Exile. All of Ellen's books were written in southern Utah, the country she finally and fiercely embraced as home. Her last book, Eating Stone, is approaching publication. Ellen's family and friends are grateful to her for widening our eyes, nourishing our need for beauty, and making us laugh.

A memorial service was held in Bluff on Sunday, Nov. 7.