Ellen Fay (Zaja) Gillian

Ellen Fay Gillian (nee Zaja) 95 of Hammond, passed away peacefully on Friday, October 7, 2022 at her residence. Beloved mother of Patrick Gillian and the late Michael Wesley Gillian and Jacqueline Hulsey; cherished grandmother of Dawn (Tim) Petrick; adoring great grandmother of Tristan (Ariel Goudy) Brown; dear great, great grandmother of Rylan and Autumn; nieces and nephews. She was also preceded in death by three brothers, Norbert, Roland and Clifford Zaja.

Funeral services will be held Friday, October 14, 2022 at 9:30am at the Baran Funeral Home, 1235-119th St., Whiting; a Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10:00am at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Whiting with the Rev. Mark R. Peres, C.PP.S., officiating; interment, Holy Cross Cemetery, Calumet City, IL; visitation at the funeral home on Thursday from 4:00 to 8:00pm. Expressions of sympathy may be placed on-line at www.baranfh.com.

Ellen Fay Gillian was born on November 8, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois to Joseph and Elizabeth Zaja and was a member of the Menomonee Indian Tribe and descendant of Chief Oshkosh. A lifelong resident of the Calumet Region, she grew up in Whiting, lived in East Chicago, settled in Hammond and was a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Whiting. She began her working career in 1943 at the Whiting Woolworth Store, then a telephone operator at Illinois Bell, office worker at Graver Tank, and Youngstown Sheet & Tube (LTV Steel) working up to Assistant to the Construction Superintendent with a service of 25 years and Bee Chemical with a service of 20 years. After retirement, she continued to work at the Horseshoe Casino, St. Catherine Hospital and Centier Bank. Ellen was a very active woman, enjoying a variety of activities, bowling, hunting, skeet shooting at the Whiting Gun Club, fishing, crafts, a love of travel, she loved to play the piano and sing, crochet, board games, play cards, vintage TV and movie buff and was the Queen of sudoku. She had also worked with Junior Achievement, teaching crafts and marketing. Devoted to her family, Ellen will be sadly missed by all who know and loved her. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the charity of your choice, would be appreciated. 

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