Ellen M. Mouillesseaux

"When it’s over, I don’t want to wonder if I have made of my life something particular and real. I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened, I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world" - Mary Oliver

Ellen Mouillesseaux, 63, passed away on November 11, 2026, surrounded by her family, following a courageous two-year battle with glioblastoma. She was born in Hornell, NY, to the late Donald Crosby and Mary Agnes Argentieri Crosby.

A proud graduate of the Hornell schools and SUNY Geneseo, Ellen began her career as an elementary school teacher at Alfred-Almond Elementary School. After dating just seven weeks she eloped with her husband, Michael, and moved to Endicott, NY, where she continued her teaching career at Calvin Coolidge Elementary School in Binghamton.

Over the course of three decades teaching Pre-K through 2nd grade, Ellen touched countless lives and inspired generations of students. Teaching was truly her calling, and she was a natural in the classroom. Her impact was evident in the many former students who stayed in touch throughout the years. Many fondly remembered the butterfly life-cycle display that appeared in her classroom every September. Her family remembers the annual end-of-summer car rides around the Triple Cities in seeking the perfect milkweed field in search of monarch butterfly caterpillars. The Binghamton PTA recently awarded Ellen at their Founder’s Day celebration, recognizing her dedication to the community in and outside the classroom.

While her devotion to her students was unmistakable, Ellen's greatest loves were always her marriage to Michael and two daughters Emily and Rachel. Coaching the girls in soccer when they were young and traveling up and down the East Coast to cheer Emily and Rachel on at their softball games. Ellen was the keeper of her family's memories, a role beautifully reflected in the many scrapbooks she lovingly created over the years chronicling yearly family vacations and participation events.

When the girls became adults and Ellen retired, she embraced new challenges and discovered new passions. She became an accomplished gardener, proudly passing her Master Gardener exam while hospitalized on the eve of her second brain surgery. She had a special appreciation for the beauty of God's creation and found great joy in tending to her garden. An avid birdwatcher, she kept feeders throughout her yard and frequently checked her phone app to identify and keep track of the birds that came to visit.

Her love of butterflies didn't end in the classroom and became one of the most recognizable and cherished parts of who she was. Whether nurturing them in her flower gardens or sharing their beauty with others by weekly handwritten correspondences, butterflies remained a special source of wonder and joy throughout her life. Even as her illness progressed, that love never faded. It was a reflection of Ellen herself; a woman who found beauty in the world around her and continued to appreciate life's small miracles.

Ellen is survived by her husband of nearly 36 years, Michael, and her beloved daughters, Emily and Rachel; her siblings, David (Debra) Crosby, Nancy (Frank) Fenti, and Patricia (the late, Jody) Lebrenz; her mother-in-law, Virginia Mouillesseaux, her sisters-in-law, Karen Mouillesseaux, and Marie (Mark) Lawrence; as well as many cherished nieces, nephews, friends, and neighbors.

The family wishes to express heartfelt gratitude to the Broome County Hospice team, particularly Naomi and Mary, as well as Dr. Kate Foxx and the team at Broome County Oncology and Radiology, for their compassion, kindness, and care throughout Ellen's journey.

A Funeral Mass for Ellen will be held on Saturday, November 21st at 11:30 am at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, 701 W. Main Street, Endicott. The family will receive friends from 10 am until Mass at 11:30 am.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County designated garden program in honor of Ellen's love of gardening and the beauty of the natural world.