Lelia S. Ellenberger, 101, died Nov. 13, 2020, in Luther Crest Senior Living Community, South Whitehall.

She had a joyful and fulfilling life.

She and her late husband, Samuel Glenn Ellenberger, were married 68 years.

Born April 30, 1919, in Shuqualak, Miss., she attended Meridian Business College in Meridian, Miss., where, after graduation, she worked as a secretary for a law firm.

Then during World War II at an Army Air Corps base in Meridian, she met and married her husband in 1944.

The couple and their three sons settled in Allentown in 1951.

She worked 11 years as a legal secretary for the Pennsylvania Workers Compensation Board.

A lifelong devout Christian, she exhibited a steadfast commitment to her faith and church.

As a member of Asbury United Methodist Church since 1951, she taught Sunday School and served on numerous committees.

Her beliefs guided and influenced her day-to-day life and she showed compassion and concern for those in need by delivering meals and flowers, and visiting shut-ins.

She valued higher education and for many years was an active member of the Philanthropic Educational Organization Sisterhood, Chapter V, Emmaus.

She had a gentle, loving nature, and an ever-positive spirit.

She had a lifelong passion for music, starting with piano lessons as a child from her mother, Pearl, and playing until age 99.

She played classical as well as early jazz and entertained her young children and grandchildren as they danced and laughed to the tune “Kitten on the Keys.”

She brought her southern cooking to Pennsylvania and shared her fabulous pecan pie with family and friends at Christmas gatherings and hosted tea parties for her young granddaughters.

Her character was exemplary and of the highest standards: honest, thrifty yet generous to others, moral and ethical, appreciative of others, and loving.

She taught her children morality, right from wrong, and a strong work ethic, and encouraged them to strive for excellence.

She showed by her words and deeds how to be a caring wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend.

This was an extraordinary gift to all of her sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, other relatives, and friends who will always admire and love her.

Her survivors include sons James of Ann Arbor, Mich.; Daniel and his wife, Gale, of Emmaus; and Jay and his wife, Karen, of McLean, Va.; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

She was predeceased by two sisters and brothers, and a devoted companion Carl C. Reimer, also from Luther Crest.

A private family service will be held at Asbury United Methodist Church Memorial Garden and a celebration of life will occur next year after the COVID-19 virus subsides.

To share memories or a kind message with the family, go to brubakerfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Philanthropic Educational Organization at donationspeointernational.org.