Just Two Girls From Hebron

Honoring Our Parents. One Story at a Time.

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Hi! We’re the Ely girls, or we used to be known as the Ely girls, and likely around Hebron still are! Now our surnames are Milliman and Filliatreault.

We were born and raised in a farmhouse on County Route 30 in Hebron, Washington County, NY. We were the fourth generation to live in that home. Built in 1890, it was sold out of the family in 2006. A lot of stories resonate from that home and afterward. We’re here to share the legacy that is our parents, but along the way, you may learn a bit about all those other generations and all the descendants of those people. Woven in. The Family, but for now, we’re here to honor the memory of our parents, Florence Sarah Pelletier Ely (b. July 28, 1946, d. October 2, 2025) and Leonard Roscoe Ely (b. October 15, 1945, d. May 11, 1993).

I’m Christina Ely Milliman, the youngest of the two (on the left). As a child and teen, I was a musician. I played several instruments. Flute, piccolo, and piano are the main ones. In that home in Hebron and at school in Hartford, I played and practiced those instruments 10-30 hours a week. At age 17, I laid them down. For 30 years! Just a couple of weeks ago, upon my Mother’s death, I picked up my flute and played Amazing Grace. A few days later, I unearthed and literally dusted off my black lacquer Yamaha piano. Today, I am a potter and teacher. I own azure arts pottery studio in Richfield Springs, NY, just north of Cooperstown.

Eulogy for Mom and Dad: The First Bookmark

Written by Christina Ely Milliman, in memory of Florence Sarah Pelletier Ely and Leonard Roscoe Ely

Published on Facebook, October 9, 2025

Native American Prayer

I give you this one thought to keep-

I am with you still-I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sunlight on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken

in the morning hush,

I am the swift, uplifting rush

of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not think of me as gone-

I am with you still-in each new dawn.

When I opened my mother’s bible to read the 23rd Psalm at her funeral, this was one of two bookmarks she had placed there. This prayer is printed on the back of Malcolm R. Lundy’s funeral card. For those of you who do not know, the Lundy’s were our immediate and most dear neighbors in Hebron. They have always been there for us. I am grateful I found it and read it only moments before walking up to the podium and could share it with everyone present, and now with all of you.

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