recent posts

• Eulogy for Mom and Dad: The Process of Writing and Grief
• Eulogy for Mom and Dad: For the Love of Sugar!
• Eulogy for Mom and Dad: Happy 80th Birthday, Dad!
• Eulogy for Mom and Dad: The Selflessness of a Son-In-Law
• Eulogy for Mom and Dad: First Memories

about

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.