Ella Marie (Jensen) Marten, 91, of Ames, Iowa, passed away July 25, 2019, at Northridge Village in Ames. A gathering of family and friends will be held from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. with a brief service to follow at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, July 29, at Grandon Funeral and Cremation Care, 414 Lincoln Way, Ames, Iowa 50010. Burial will take place at a later date at Iowa Veterans Cemetery.
Ella was born August 24, 1927, in Enumclaw, Washington, the daughter of Martin and Helene (Sondergaard) Jensen. She spent her childhood in Newell, Iowa, and graduated from Newell High School in 1945. She went on to receive her Master's degree in music from Sherwood School of Music in Chicago in 1951.
She met her future husband, Gilbert Marten, on a blind date arranged by their mutual piano teacher in Storm Lake. She and Gil were married on July 1, 1951, in Newell. Ella's passion was piano, both playing and teaching. Ella and Gil lived in Iowa Falls, Boone, and Ames and had two children, Cynthia and Kai. In addition to teaching piano, Ella worked as an organist in Boone and Ames.
Ella began giving piano lessons in 1950 and retired in 1990 after 40 years of teaching. Over the years she taught hundreds of students to play the piano and to feel the joy of creating music. "Mrs. Marten" was known for her amazing patience and for encouraging her students to challenge themselves. She was a longtime member of the Iowa Music Teachers Association and worked on the piano repertoire committee for ten years. Two of her former students honored her with a brick at the Carrie Chapman Plaza of Heroines located at ISU in 1995.
She was also an avid flower gardener and loved reading mysteries delivered to her at Northridge by the Ames Public Library. She enjoyed keeping up on current events and was a wonderful conversationalist.
Ella will be greatly missed and lovingly remembered for her smile, her laugh and sense of humor, her thoughtfulness, her pride in her Danish heritage, a deep love of family, and her sense of compassion for others.
Ella is survived by her husband Gilbert Marten, children Kai Marten, and Cynthia Marten (Dallas Thies) , and grandchildren Alec Marten, Fiona Marten, and Julian Thies (fiancé Haley Goldsmith)
She was preceded in death by her parents and brothers Clifford and Harry.
Memorials may be directed to the Ames Public Library.
Online condolences may be directed to: www.grandonfuneralandcremationcare.com.