Ellen Louise Gilchrist, renowned author, mother, grandmother, and friend, died peacefully in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, in the early evening of January 30, 2024, surrounded by family. She was 88 years old.
Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on February 20, 1935 to Aurora Alford Gilchrist and William Garth Gilchrist, Jr., Ellen spent her youth at Hopedale Plantation, Issaquena County, Mississippi, and in Courtland, Alabama with her father's family. It was in those places that she learned the rich, deep story-telling of the South, and the value of books, education, and the written word.
Ellen began her writing career at the age of 11, with a weekly newspaper column called ‘Chit and Chat About This and That.’ She studied at Vanderbilt, and earned a degree in English from Millsaps College under Eudora Welty. During her tenure at Millsaps, Ellen was one of the founding members of The New Stage Theater in Jackson, Mississippi, along with Patti Black, Jim Childs, Jim Becker, Ford Petty, and others, which is the heart of Jackson Art today. She received her Master’s Degree in English from the University of Arkansas in 1979, and published her first book of poetry, ‘The Land Surveyor’s Daughter’, followed by ‘In The Land of Dreamy Dreams.’
Ellen published over 26 books translated into multiple languages. She won the 1984 National Book Award for ‘Victory Over Japan’ and gained critical acclaim for her novel, ‘The Annunciation.’ Ellen also was a contributor on NPR’s ‘Morning Edition’ for many years. Her writing is noted for its honest human elements, telling humor, rich detail, and strong, independent female characters, who grew and re-occurred throughout her work over time.
Outside of Mississippi, Ellen lived in Fayetteville, Arkansas, for almost 35 years. She taught graduate level English at the University of Arkansas, focusing on Shakespeare and 20th century American writers which included her friends Eudora Welty, Walker Percy, James Whitehead, Bill Harrison, Otto Salassi, George Plimpton, and poet Miller Williams, father of musician Lucinda Williams.
Writer Jon Parrish Peede summed up her work and life, stating, “Like her characters, Gilchrist is apt to force open the doors of polite society. She is a passionate person, and passionate people must speak their minds. Love and loss, people and places, language and knowledge, Zen and the River – they float through her work and her life. Hers is not a cultivated eccentricity, but rather it is the expression of a truly free and liberated mind.”
As a mother and grandmother, Ellen was beloved. She is predeceased in death by her parents Aurora Alford and William Garth Gilchrist, Jr., and her brother, William Garth Gilchrist, III. She is survived by her brother, Bob Gilchrist (Julie), three sons, Marshall Peteet Walker, Jr. (Catherine), Garth Gilchrist Walker, Pierre Gautier Walker (Nathalie), eighteen grandchildren, Marshall Kingman Walker, M.D. (Courtney), Ellen Gilchrist Walker, Aurora Alford Walker (Gideon), Cameron Benjamin Walker, Felicia Ellen Walker, Sean Daniel Walker, Abigail Niamh Madison Walker, Anastasia Dubois Campeau, Juliet Xanthe Roisin Walker, Josephine Eliane Anne Walker, Karolina Mathilde Schmidt Majgaard, William Elliot Walker, Octavia Camille Walker, Victoria Rose Walker, Zachery Walker Austin, Augustus Pierre Walker, Noelle Pavey Walker, Benjamin Jensen, and ten great-grandchildren.
Ellen's graveside service will be held for family and friends at Floral Hills Memory Gardens, located at 4111 US-80, Pearl, MS 39208, noon, Saturday, February 17th. Ellen's wish for her family, fans, and friends was that anyone who loved her work, or liked her personally, please go have a good time, enjoy yourself, be kind, generous, and live life to its fullest, as we are all truly made of stars.
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