Patricia Carolyn (Ellison) Kruse, age 78, passed away on Sunday, May 28, 2023 in Heath, Texas. Her Celebration of Life / Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 10:30 AM at Living Bread Fellowship Church at 1003 Griswold Avenue in Sterling, Illinois.

Patricia Carolyn Ellison was born on January 31, 1945 to Luther Ernest Ellison and Carolyn (Ringenberg) Ellison in Kewanee, IL. She was the oldest of four children. She passed away peacefully on May 28, 2023 after battling Alzheimer’s for a number of years. Patricia was known as Pat growing up, but later preferred to go by Trish, and the name definitely suited her. She grew up in Sterling, IL along with her siblings: Larry, Linda and Barbara. Trish had a love of animals from an early age, with horses being one of her favorites. She often traveled to visit her Aunt Dena in Virginia where she took horseback riding lessons and interacted with wildlife - including a “pet” deer they named Deerie. She loved Virginia Beach and would later bring her children there on vacation. Trish also spent a lot of time visiting her Grandma & Grandpa Ringenberg on their farm near Tiskilwa, IL. They had a horse named Victor that she rode when she went to visit them, often riding him down the country roads to a nearby town where she would hitch him up to a post outside the country store so she could go buy herself some ice cream. So, even though she was a city girl, she also had country roots and loved spending time with her family and with the animals.

In high school, Trish was involved in marching band, and played the clarinet. She loved going to school and had a lifetime love of learning, and graduated from high school with honors in 1962. On April 20, 1963, she married James Edward McCue, and moved out to the country. They had four children together: James, Laura, Linda and Michael. Trish also continued with her love of horses, as she owned four of them on their family farm, along with their first dog, Duke. The farm also had hogs, so to say she kept busy is an understatement. When her children were still very young, her marriage ended, and she moved them to Silvis, IL. Trish then attended nursing school, and became an RN. She was very proud of this accomplishment and had a soft spot for her older patients. She continued to ride horses at a nearby stable.

In the mid 70’s, Trish moved to Davenport, IA, and found a family home in a great neighborhood. She always had a family dog, with a Doberman named Circe being one of her favorites. After a number of years in nursing, she decided to switch careers and became a Pharmaceutical Sales Rep for Pfizer. She excelled at this career and was eventually recruited by Connaught to become a Pharmaceutical Sales Manager. Trish enjoyed being active, so she purchased a small sailboat, named it Hyzenflay, and took it out either on her own, with her siblings, or sometimes one of her children would go along. She also loved to play racquetball, and would give her children a run for their money when playing against them. Trish was an avid supporter of her children when they played sports, and would travel to watch, cheer and take photos of them.

Her next phase in life found her moving to Texas for a short time, then to California where she remained for a number of years. She was very happy to live closer to her sister, Linda, and her mom, Carolyn. She loved living in California with access to the beaches and oceans, and developed a love of gardening while there. Her yard was a garden showcase - full of beautiful plants and flowers. She was also given a miniature dachshund as a gift and named her Hannah. She and Hannah were inseparable, and had a very special bond. Trish was known to slip Hannah into places she wasn’t supposed to go - an early adopter of the “purse dog” movement.

She took many small vacations over the years to visit her children and enjoyed watching her grandchildren play sports and perform at their dance recitals. One of her favorite trips was traveling to Europe with her daughter, Lindy. She told Lindy that Switzerland was the most beautiful place she had ever seen.

Trish was never afraid to follow her dreams, and a part of her had always wanted to follow in the footsteps of her dad, Ernie, who was the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Rock Island, IL. So, in her 50’s, she went back to school to complete an undergraduate degree, then tackled law school. While attending law school, she volunteered at the Domestic Violence Clinic in Vista County through a Volunteer Lawyer Program, which she found very rewarding. At a San Diego Bar Association dinner, she was presented a volunteer award for her work at the clinic. Graduating from Thomas Jefferson Law school was one of the accomplishments she was most proud of. She graduated and then passed the California Bar Exam in 2003, and was officially an attorney. The clinic she had been volunteering at then offered her a position to work there full time, but she was needed elsewhere.

Shortly after passing the bar, Trish sold her house in California, and moved back to Illinois to help her son Michael with her two young granddaughters. She lived with them for a couple of years, and during this time, her first bunny was given to her. She also took and passed the Illinois Bar Exam, so she was licensed to practice law in two states. Trish had such a passion for the law that she served during elections as an Election Judge, and was also one of the few people on the planet who was thrilled when she was selected for jury duty.

After her time at Michael’s, she moved a few miles down the road to her oldest son, Jim’s house, and lived with him and his family for a couple of years as well. While in Illinois, Trish volunteered at Pegasus Special Riders, which combined her love of horses with helping special needs children. She then moved back to Texas to be near her daughter, Lindy. While in Texas, Trish volunteered at a rescue shelter for bunnies and with her love of animals - especially bunnies - she began to bring more home to foster them and adopted a large number of them. She developed a particular fondness for Chick-fil-A while in Texas and if you brought her the #1 meal from there, her eyes would light up.

She loved old movies - especially musicals - with Calamity Jane, Grease and The Unsinkable Molly Brown being some of her favorites. She also loved Watership Down (the show and the music), 9 to 5, My Cousin Vinny, The Grinch (original animated version) and the Murder She Wrote television series. Trish enjoyed music as well, with old time hymns at the top of the list - including Great is Thy Faithfulness and Amazing Grace. She also loved Handel’s Messiah and Phantom of the Opera, having watched live performances of both. Two of her favorite artists were from the 70’s: Jim Croce and John Denver. When Trish would get together with her sisters, one of her favorite things to do with them was to sing the song, “Sisters” from the movie White Christmas. Her favorite colors were pink and white, so you would often find her wearing those colors or see a vase of flowers in those colors as well.

Trish was a proud and avid Republican. Ronald Reagan was her favorite President and his boyhood home was in Dixon, IL, where she lived for a short time. She was also a big Trump fan and would enjoy debating politics with anyone who was willing to engage in a discussion. Fox News was constantly on at her house. While she loved her family, animals, politics, the law, the ocean, sailing and many other activities, a defining trait of Trish’s was her unfailing faith in God. She attended many Christian churches over the years and would pray for her family daily. Trish loved Billy Graham - she watched him on TV often, subscribed to his magazine, and attended a couple of his crusades in person. She took her children to church, Sunday School and Bible Camps, and would later take her grandchildren to church as well. When you received a birthday card from Trish, she would always include a Bible verse that she was praying over you with. One of Trish’s favorite Bible verses was Isaiah 40:31 - “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

While it is impossible to sum up a person’s life in a few paragraphs, everyone who knew Trish found her to be eternally optimistic (literally everything was “the best in the world or biggest ever”), kind to others (never heard her say anything mean), strong in her faith, fearless, confident, extremely intelligent and most importantly, she loved her family wholeheartedly.

In 2016, she contracted the West Nile Virus, and shortly after that, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. While the disease eventually took her life, Trish was always optimistic and always knew who her family members were, and we treasured every moment we were able to spend with her.

Trish is survived by her four children; son Jim (Cary) McCue of Sterling, IL; daughter Laura (Brad) Feldner of Fargo, ND; daughter Lindy (Brent) King of Heath, TX and son Michael (Lisa) McCue of Zachary, LA; by her nine grandchildren; Lauren McCue of North Augusta, SC; Maegan McCue of Houston, TX; Olivia McCue of Zachary, LA; Kaleb McCue of Sterling, IL; Alex Feldner of Fargo, ND; Dylan Feldner of Fargo, ND; Lexie King of Heath, TX; Kennedy King of Heath, TX; Harper King of Heath, TX; and by her three siblings; Lawrence (Connie) Ellison of East Moline, IL; Linda Ellison of Oceanside, CA; and Barbara Ellison of Goldvein, VA; and her two nieces; Christine (Josh) Freeman of Naperville, IL and Sara (Dylan) Reynolds of Chicago, IL. She was preceded in death by her parents, Ernie Ellison and Carolyn Pot.

Her Celebration of Life / Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 10:30 AM at Living Bread Fellowship Church at 1003 Griswold Avenue in Sterling, Illinois. We encourage you to wear a touch of pink to her service if you attend, as she would have loved that. A luncheon will be served immediately after the service at the home of Jim and Cary McCue. Memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.

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