Ellin Groh Gutierrez-Mason

Ellin (Lee) Groh Gutierrez-Mason passed away on March 8, 2023, at her home in Florence, South Carolina. Ellin was born on May 5, 1944, in Rochester, New York, and was raised in Geneva, New York, graduating from DeSales High School in 1962. My mom was whip-smart, intellectually curious, cared for people less fortunate, and a true artist. My mom taught me life lessons by how she lived herself. She received her Teacher Assistant certification in New York and graduated with honors from Eastern Michigan University with a B.S. in Anthropology all while a single mom. She read vociferously and insisted her children did too. She was an early-stage baby boomer turned activist in the 1970s, which she was until her passing. Ellin supported such causes as the World Wildlife Fund, Native American causes, Women’s Rights groups, and, of course, any organization that cared for wayward dogs. Somehow wayward dogs started sharing that fact with one another, so plenty would stop by her house. Ellin loved her dogs more than anything – especially Crumpet, her last. She found solace in the love of a dog – an unconditional love that gave her company and companionship throughout every hill and valley she climbed. Ellin was a true creative seen through her quilting, craft projects, and uncanny ability to reawaken discarded goods. Ellin liked the simple life before technology took over. She hardly used a cell phone, had an old school answering machine—“Mom, it’s me…pick up”, used a computer to sparingly send email, and liked to be connected to the natural noise of birds chirping and leaves rustling. Technology did find a way into her life when the University of Michigan was playing a college football game or a basketball game against Duke. She will be missed. Ellin was preceded in death by her parents LeAnna Almeda Wheaton, Robert Lawless Groh, and her younger brother Charles Groh. She is survived by her brothers, Robert Michael Groh (Bettina), David Terrance Groh, and James Francis Groh; her son James Guillermo Gutierrez (Jennifer) and grandchildren, Gabriel Gutierrez, Madeline Small, and Catherine Small; her daughter LeAnna Maria Gutierrez Cumber (Husein) and grandchildren Jake Reza Cumber and Penelope Noorjehan Cumber.