Ellen Kann Isserman, 94 years old, of Urbana died peacefully surrounded by loving family at home on Friday, October 4, 2013. She lived life fully, appreciating every day with tremendous strength, elegance, grace, and sensitivity. Ellen always put family first and was compassionate towards others.

Ellen was born in Berlin, Germany, on November 13, 1918. She attended the Theodor Herzl Jewish School with her sweetheart, Manfred "Fred" Isserman, to whom she was married on April 14, 1939. They escaped Germany together, spending a year in England before emigrating to the United States; very few members of either family survived the Holocaust, including the loss of her parents and sister Marion.

Ellen was the cornerstone of the strong family she and Fred built, creating a loving and structured home for their son Andy, born in 1947 in New York City, and daughter Marion, born in 1951 in Linz, Austria.

She was the lovingly acknowledged foundation and partner in her husband's distinguished career in US military intelligence. The consummate hostess, she balanced a keen and critical minda