Our beloved daughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, and friend, Mary Ellen Bastian, passed away September 18, 2021, after a brief illness, at the age of 56.
Ellen was born in Green River, Utah on April 24, 1965, to Lorna Peterson Bastian and Ernest Marion Bastian. She was the third out of eight children. Ellen graduated from Green River High School in 1983. She applied to the Mary Kawakami College of Beauty in Provo, Utah in 1986 and graduated in May of 1988. Ellen then moved to Florida with her sister Danna and brother-in-law Philip, where she worked at a grocery store and helped take care of Danna and Philip’s first child Diana. Ellen stayed in Florida for a year and then returned to Green River where she and Danna began doing hair in their parents’ home. Ellen was also working at the Chow Hound at the time and had the opportunity to purchase it in 1990. The Chow Hound quickly became a great family business and most of her siblings, nieces, and nephews worked there at some point! Ellen and Danna became very busy doing hair at the Bastian home, so Ellen began looking for a bigger place. In 1997, she was able to purchase the Clothes Closet on Broadway and turn it into the Cut N Curl. Ellen ran both businesses for many years. She then sold the Chow Hound to her sister, Janeice, in 2008 and the Cut N Curl to her sister, Rebecca, in 2019. Ellen continued to help out at the Chow Hound and also returned to the Green River Senior Citizen Center, where she worked previously, to cook meals.
If you have been to the Chow Hound, Cut N Curl, or the Senior Center, then you have experienced some of Ellen’s many talents. Ellen loved to cook! She prepared meals for the Senior Center, cooked at the Chow Hound, and baked many of the delicious goodies you could find in the Chow Hound bakery case. Ellen made and decorated many amazing birthday cakes and wedding cakes over the years. She cooked for family camping trips, family reunions, birthday parties, and even for Coach Buzz and Coach Kira’s basketball dinners! When Ellen was cooking, no one went hungry! Not only was Ellen the greatest chef and baker, but she was also the best party planner. Birthday parties, family reunions, cousin Christmas parties, and Easter egg hunts were always amazing events, packed with food, crafts, games, and fun! No one wanted to miss one of Ellen’s parties!
For years, Ellen did hair and nails at the Cut N Curl. There, you can see many of her other talents displayed. Her paintings, framed photographs from her many vacations, photos of the Green River area, and her ceramics are on display in the Cut N Curl. She also shared her painting knowledge and taught some painting classes in Green River.
Ellen was always busy with a project. At the Chow Hound, she painted decorative art on the windows for every holiday and event. At the Cut N Curl, you could always find a quilt being sewn and tied, a photo album being put together of one of her many vacations, or flower arrangements that filled up the entire building being completed for Memorial Day. She even did some woodworking and made the counter and the shelves in the Cut N Curl!
Ellen was so talented. She loved her family very much and shared her many talents with them. A few years ago, for Christmas, she made quilts for every member of the family. And if you know the Bastian family, that is a lot of quilts! She also gifted her paintings to family members and friends. Ellen was the most loving and giving person you could ever meet, and she will be greatly missed by all who knew her.
Mary Ellen is survived by her mother, Lorna Peterson Bastian; her siblings, Valerie (Allen) Clark; Danna Engleman; David (Terri) Bastian; Susan Janeice (Roy) Pfander; Tyler (Mistie) Bastian and Rebecca Bastian all of Green River, Utah and Kyle (Brandy) Bastian of Garland, Utah and 41 nieces and nephews.
Mary Ellen was preceded in death by her father, Ernest Marion Bastian; nephew, Tyler Thompson; and brother-in-law, Philip Engleman.
Funeral service, Friday, September 24, 2021, 11:00 a.m., Green River Ward Chapel. Family will receive friends Friday morning beginning at 10:00 a.m. Interment, Elgin Cemetery. Arrangements entrusted to Mitchell Funeral Home where friends are always welcome daily and may share memories online at www.mitchellfuneralhome.net.