Eleanor Ollinger Ellis Sweetland

Eleanor Ollinger Ellis Sweetland, 85, passed away Sunday, September 9, 2012 following a brief illness. She was an educator in the Hopewell Public School System for over 30 years, and active in many community organizations. Born and raised in Columbus, MS she was the daughter of the late Mary Rebecca Hairston Ellis and Herbert Drane Ellis. She attended Lee High School in Columbus and received her degree in Education from Mississippi State College for Women. After college, she taught briefly in Jacksonville, FL. She then moved to Richmond, VA to be with her sister and worked as a keypunch operator for Markel Insurance. During that time, she was contacted by the Superintendent of Hopewell Public Schools and accepted a position teaching Physical Education and coaching women’s basketball and field hockey at Hopewell High School. During her tenure with Hopewell Schools she also taught Science and Health. Shortly after moving to Hopewell, she met and married the love of her life, the late Theodore Wessley “Ted” Sweetland, Sr. They settled in the Crescent Hills area of Hopewell where they made a home, raised a family, and spent 59 years together. She is survived by her loving and devoted children: a son, Theodore Wessley Sweetland, Jr. and his wife, Carolyn and his children, Lindsay Megan Sweetland and Blake Wessley Sweetland of Midlothian, VA; her son, Peter Montague Sweetland of Richmond, VA; and her daughter, Eleanor Thomas Sweetland Ward and her children, Anne Harper Ward and Elizabeth "Libbie" Montague Ward of Henrico, VA. Her niece, Rebecca “Becka” Fenner Haggerty and her husband, David and their son, Rainer Fenner Haggerty and his wife, Megan; and a nephew, William Archibald “Bill” Fenner, Jr. his wife, Val and his daughter, Patricia Ann Fenner Morgan and her daughter, Harper Morgan. She was a Patron of the The James River Ball and member of the Hopewell Junior Women’s Club as well as the Women’s Club of Hopewell, the Frances Bland Randolph Chapter the DAR, a member of The Appomattox Garden Club, and an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of Hopewell. A graveside service will held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, September 17 at Merchant’s Hope Memorial Garden in Prince George. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Hopewell, 1107 W. Broadway Hopewell, VA 23860, or to a charitable organization of your choice, in her name. Condolences may be registered online at www.jtmorriss.com .