Viewing Object

His family lived just south of the Willoughby School site on 208th Street. He was a student at Willoughby School (year and grade unknown).
Term Source: Willoughby School Photos.

John Ellens was Dutch, born August 1, 1904 in Santpoort, Velsen, Noord, The Netherlands. His parents were Harms and Amelia Ellens. He moved to Canada in 1929 from The Netherlands by ship to Halifax and then by the Canadian Pacific Raiway to the Okanagan Valley. He moved to the Vancouver area in late 1929 and purchased 6.5 acres of property in 1931.There was a house and a barn on the property at 521 Alexander Road (7852 208th Street) just south of Willoughby Elementary School. He moved from Vancouver onto the property permanently in 1935. John married Kathleen Straw on June 26, 1937 in Vancouver. They had two sons, Harry Ellens and William (Bill) Ellens. The couple lived about a mile south of Kathleen's parents, just south of Willoughby school on 208th Street. John was a landscape designer/gardner and comercial horticulturist. He maintained the grounds at Fort Langley Historic Site in the late 1950s and was a volunteer Fire Fighter with the North West Langley Fire Department. John died Dec. 28, 1990 in Langley.

Kathleen Straw was born on Feb. 25,1914 to parents Elizabeth and William Henry Straw in Maxim, Saskatchewan. Kathleen grew up at 20819 85th Avenue in Willoughby, roughly where the overpass now is. She had two brothers, Richard (Dick) Straw and Wilfred Straw. Kathleen attended West Langley Elementary School, Langley High School, and received her Elementary School Teaching Certificate from Vancouver Normal School. She married John Ellens on June 26, 1937 and they lived 521 Alexander Road or what is now know as 7851 208th Street, just south of the present Willoughby Elementary School playing fields (2013). Kathleen and John had two sons, Harris Ellens and William (Bill) Ellens. Kathleen was a teacher at West Langley Elementary School from 1935 until her marriage in 1937, a librarian at the Langley Public Library, and a Returning Officer in local, provincial and federal elections. She was an active member of Willoughby United Church, where she taught Sunday school. She served as Chairman of the Church Board of Trustees and was a CGIT leader. Kathleen died Nov. 20, 1976 in Murrayville.

William Henry and Elizabeth Straw (nee Payne) settled in the Willoughby area. They had three children : Kathleen (b. 1913), Richard (Dick), and Wilfred. The family lived at 20819 85th Avenue in Willoughby, where the overpass now is (2004). Kathleen married John Ellens. William Henry Straw died January 9, 1960, at the age of 78, in Murrayville. Elizabeth also died in Murrayville September 17, 1972, at the age of 89. Kathleen died in Murrayville on November 20, 1976, at the age of 61. As of 2005, Richard is still living in Langley, and Wilfred lives in the Valley as well.