Ellen LeCompte, 68, died August 10 at her home in Lawrence, Kansas. Born in Colorado Springs, Colorado to Oliver and Janet LeCompte, the second of six children, Ellie grew up in that city, attending local public schools and later the Colorado Springs School for Girls before transferring to the Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale, Colorado, where she graduated in 1968. Ellie thrived in the school's iconoclastic atmosphere, where students helped build barns and operate the school's farm.
Ellie attended Pitzer College in Claremont, California and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City before completing her undergraduate work at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. She held various jobs during and after her college studies, including teaching English at the Technical Vocational Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico and working in administration for the Colorado Springs Symphony.
Ellie received her Ph.D in psychology at the University of Kansas. She spent the rest of her life working in Topeka and Lawrence as a practicing therapist.
She wanted to feel life to the fullest, to truly connect with the world, and among all her passions, her love of animals stands out. From childhood on, the intelligence and charm of standard poodles delighted her. She was surrounded in daily life in Lawrence by her beloved poodles Pete, Betty, and Chika and her beloved cats Magic, Libby, and Archie. She sometimes rescued injured animals on the roadside, unhesitatingly funding the veterinary bills needed to restore the creature's health.
Ellie's generosity and devotion extended to the artistic community of Lawrence. She helped found the Lawrence Arts Center artist-in-residence program and became a friend and mentor to many emerging artists who came to Lawrence from around the world. Ellie was often in the Arts Center print studio creating her own work and delighting in her fellow printmakers.
Ellie's voracious spirit ensured that she never stopped questioning the meaning of the world or seeking deeper connections with those she loved. Ellie believed in risk-taking, boldness, liberal notions, and unconditional love. Her home was filled with art and animals and books. She loved to have dinner and debate movies and politics and human motivations with her close friends. More than a few of her friends and family, not to mention her patients, could say she had rescued them.
She leaves behind a dear family of friends in Lawrence, Kansas as well as four siblings, Jenny Anderson of Berthoud, Colorado; Charles LeCompte of Brookline, Massachusetts; Tom LeCompte of Sharon, Massachusetts; and Peter LeCompte of Walanae, Hawaii. She was preceded in death by her younger sister Louisa LeCompte in 1964.
A celebration of Ellie's life will be held Sunday, August 26 at 5:00 p.m. at the Lawrence Arts Center 940 New Hampshire Lawrence, Kansas 66044.
Honor Ellie with gifts to the Lawrence Arts Center, Van Go, Inc. or the Lawrence Humane Society.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Ellie was my therapist back in 1989. She was amazing. I have thought about her over the years. Today decided to try look for her but instead found her obituary.I know she has a special place in heaven because she was a living angel. It saddens me that I never got to tell her the difference she made in my life and that I still remember the time she took me to a fancy hotel for breakfast The Eldridge on Mass St in Lawrence.
Cathleen Oden
February 5, 2021
What an amazing human. Love to you, Ellie!
Andrea Albright
August 26, 2018
Your passing is untimely. I will forever remember all the time we spent together; sharing, caring, discussing, debating, laughing, and at times doing it very loudly!
Your presence and thoughtfulness will be missed by many, including God's animals that could not speak for themselves.
My confidant, my friend, my family...
Thank you, miss you, love you.
Phyllis
Phyllis Bia
August 23, 2018
I'll always remember Ellie, walking a herd of unobedient poodles at night, with a single, bright LED headlamp strapped on her head, (shining in my eyes), and her straightforward comment followed by her distinct laugh, It's so I can see the poop!. You were one of a kind Ellie LeCompte. Thanks for that. RIP
Porter Arneill
August 22, 2018
I've loved seeing and talking with you over these many years. We will miss you terribly, Ellie, rest in peace.
Nancy Cayton Myers
August 18, 2018
Gone but not forgotten.
Julie N
August 17, 2018
Thank you for everything that you did Ellie. It was way too soon for you to go. We will miss you very much.
Linda Cottin
August 17, 2018
Thank you to whoever wrote this obituary, to whoever is arranging the memorial, and to all those holding loving energy towards Ellie as she transitions from an earthy embodied life through the passage to whatever comes next. I miss her so much, and I'm not alone, and I'm so grateful to be able to surround myself by others experiencing the same on Sunday 8/25 at the perfect location: Lawrence Arts Center :-) XXOO
Cole Cottin
August 17, 2018
Truley a good person. RIP Ellie!
Tammy Wilkins
August 17, 2018
What a loss for the community. You will be missed Ellie!
Cara & Jim Connelly
August 17, 2018
Oh Ellie-you were a bright, shining star to me...now I will see you shooting across night skies. Thank you thank you thank you until we meet again-
love you,
susan forever moore
August 17, 2018
Shocked to hear of your passing. As my therapist, you brought me out of the darkness & into the light. Thank you for that. I'll miss you.
Karen O'Keefe
August 17, 2018
Our community is a little darker without you.
Charles Branson
August 16, 2018
I am shocked and saddened to read that Ellie died! I had known Ellie for many years with her involvement in the visual arts in Lawrence. She will be dearly missed.
Laurie Culling
August 16, 2018
ellie, i'm going to miss you. always, ingrid
August 16, 2018
I am so shocked and deeply saddened by Ellie's untimely death. She was a very dear friend and personal confidante who supported me for over twenty years with frank honesty and emotional compassion like no other. I will miss her joyful spirit, her penetrating insights, and her righteous anger over injustices.
Jeanne Klein
August 16, 2018
RIP Ellie.
Phil Minkin
August 16, 2018
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