Ellie Saccomanno had beautiful and kind spirit

Most people probably knew Ellie Saccomanno through her many business ventures or her work with charity. But it was her personality and giving nature that people remember most.

Saccomanno died May 3 of a stroke. She was 76.

Born in Spokane, she graduated from Central Valley High School in 1945.

After a five-year engagement, she married Bud Saccomanno in 1951. The couple had one son together, Joseph, who died in 1991.

When asked what first drew him to Ellie, Bud replied: “She was a good-looking woman.”

“She was a very glamorous lady,” said her longtime friend Terry LaLone. “She truly dressed like a model and carried herself like a model. But her spirit was beautiful and kind.”

She was also a good businesswoman. “She was always in business,” Bud said. “She was just sharp. She was a sharp businesswoman. She kept me straight.”

The couple also owned a beer distributorship from 1954 to 1970.

The couple started skiing together in the 1960s, and started a ski school in 1962. For 23 years, Ellie was a ski instructor on Mt. Spokane, Schweitzer Basin, and 49 Degrees North.

“She was gung-ho from the start,” Bud said of Ellie’s skiing. They ended up owning 49 Degrees North with seven other associates.

In 1980, Ellie started Fly Away Travel on Pacific Avenue and later moved into the Ridpath Hotel. She ran the business until 1995.

She was also active with St Anne’s Children’s Home and Gonzaga Prep for many years, and was on the Catholic Charities board of directors.

“She was extremely vivacious, warm and friendly,” LaLone said. “She reached out to children and the elderly.”

LaLone recounted how Ellie, who lived on the South Hill, would go the extra mile for her elderly clients.

“She would make things very, very simple for them when they were trying to decide on trips,” she said. “She had a great deal of patience and would spend a very long time.”

In particular, Ellie would help Gordon Vales, the paper-tearer who makes portraits of people and is often seen in Manito Park.

“He always, always wanted to cruise and Ellie would make it possible for him by doing a little trust for him to make sure he had the right amount of money,” LaLone said.

“She would make sure the cruise lines were aware that when he went aboard he had significant issues, what he needed to do in regard to activities, and oftentimes she would try and pair him up with someone within the program of the cruise ship who would be a cabinmate and who would be kind and considerate.”

Ellie was always upbeat, no matter what the circumstances. She fought breast cancer for seven years and came to work daily. The cancer eventually went into remission.

She was also prone to vein blockages, and would have procedures to clear the blockages.

“But she was a trooper,” LaLone said. “She would just go and have the procedure. In fact, last time it happened she was going in to the outpatient procedure, and when it finished she was going out to lunch. And that’s the kind of optimism that she always carried with her.”

But Ellie never made it through that procedure. During the procedure she had a bleed in her brain, which in turn caused a major stroke, LaLone said.

After Ellie died, Bud received more than 175 sympathy cards.

“She had a great personality, really,” he said. “She was always up, always had a friendly smile.”