Obituary of Ella Marie Frese

Ella Marie Cavitt Frese, aged 82, of Kingsport, TN, passed away on April 8, 2023, surrounded by her family, after a long battle with dementia.  Ella was born March 30, 1941 to Edith Marie and Charles Cavitt in Watseka, Illinois.

She was a kind and thoughtful soul that touched many lives and will be lovingly remembered by all.  She grew up in Rockford, Illinois where she graduated from West High School in 1959.  She went on to continue her education in Madison, Wisconsin where she received her Registered Nursing Diploma from Madison General Hospital School of Nursing in 1963. While completing her degree, she met the love of her life, Wolfgang Frese in 1962 and married him in 1964.  She then started her 40-year career in Nursing working at the Madison General Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. They moved to Ithaca, New York where she worked as a registered nurse at the Ithaca College Health Center. While in Ithaca she had two sons, Erich and Robert. In 1972, the family moved to Starkville, Mississippi where she worked at the Mississippi State University Health Center as a Registered Nurse until she retired as the Nurse Administrator in 2003.  While at Mississippi State University, she furthered her studies and achieved both a Bachelor of Arts in German in 1978 and a Master of Arts in German Literature in 1980.  Ella also had a passion for cooking and co-owned Classy Eats, a catering service with one of her closest friends, Amelia Bevill.  During her time in Starkville, she was always active in the community with leadership in the P.T.A. and other volunteer work for the community.  Always loving her family, she moved to Kingsport, Tennessee in 2008 to be close to family.  Ella always enjoyed helping others in the community, cooking, sewing, traveling and spending time with friends.

Ella will be greatly missed by her loving, devoted husband, Wolfgang, sons Erich (Elizabeth) and Robert (Tammy), grandchildren, Drake (Anna), Jordan and Whitney, great-granddaughter Lily, and sister Peg (Steven) Showers. She was preceded in death by her parents Edith Marie and Charles Cavitt and brother Charles Nelson Cavitt.

Family services will be held on April 13.  In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org) in her name.