Ellen Margaret Vance, age 103, of Oak Ridge passed away on Dec. 12.
Mrs. Vance was born in Knoxville on April 9, 1920, to the late Leo Kavanaugh Meehan and Ellen Cecilia Long Meehan. She was a 1937 graduate of Knoxville Catholic High School, and she was a member of St. Mary Church in Oak Ridge since before its construction in 1950.
In addition to her parents, sister Rosemary Stewart, and brothers Leo and Robert Meehan, she was preceded in death by her husband, John Gerald (Jack) Vance, daughter Kathleen Vance, and infant son John Joseph.
Mrs. Vance is survived by daughters Mary Vance Jimmerson (Keith) and Ellen Vance O’Shea; sons Stephen Francis Vance, Paul Gerald Vance (Susan), Mark Christopher Vance (Sharon), and Philip Gerard Vance; 15 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
A funeral Mass for Mrs. Vance was celebrated at St. Mary Church on Dec. 18 followed by a graveside service.
Donations in Mrs. Vance’s memory can be made to Knoxville Catholic High School, KCHS, attention: Joni Punch, 9245 Fox Lonas Road, Knoxville, TN 37923.
