Ellen S. Kester: A Teacher of Triumph

Ellen S. Kester

Ellen Skinner Kester, inspirational mother, teacher, drama director, and mentor, passed away on December 16. 2025 at the age of 97, after a sudden illness. To her family, friends, students, and actors, she was known for her energetic and enthusiastic embrace of life, her love of literature and music, and her commitment to excellence.

 She was born in a blizzard on December 21, 1927, delivered at home by her doctor father in LeRoy, NY. Her parents taught Ellen, her older brother, and younger sister a strong work ethic, balanced by their home’s music, literature, and involvement in their local Episcopalian Church where her mother directed the choir and her father served on the vestry.

Ellen’s education stretched across her life. During her high school years, she studied violin at Eastman School of Music, and then attended Oberlin College where she earned a B.A.  She went on to earn an M.A. from UC Berkeley, and an Ed.D. from the University of the Pacific. Her academic pursuits — English, Voice, Dramatic Arts, and Gifted Education — were united by her belief in the uplifting and humanizing power of literature, drama, and music. Her doctoral dissertation on teaching literature to highly capable students earned her recognition in Who’s Who Among Graduate University Students (1980). She was later honored as a member of the Pacific Northwest Women’s Hall of Fame.

A dynamic and dedicated lifelong teacher, her first great success came with launching an award-winning drama group at King Junior High School in Oakland in the turbulent 1960s, and was followed by high school teaching and directing. After her doctorate, while “teaching teachers” at California State University Chico, she became an early pioneer in remote education in central California, opening new vistas of opportunity and graduate school access for rural educators. Later Ellen taught classes for teachers at Western Washington University and Seattle Pacific University and taught at the Zacchaeus Academy in Bellingham. Throughout her life, Ellen was an unforgettable teacher who skillfully imparted knowledge and built confidence in her students, her children, and later her granddaughter, influencing their educational and career successes.

During her Bellingham years, Ellen’s major encore achievement was co-founding the Barn Theater in Sudden Valley and serving as its Artistic Director. This community theatre drew audiences and community participation from around the Bellingham area. Producing over 70 musicals and plays, including adaptations she herself created with musical collaborator Bryon Williams, she brought children, teens, adults, and seniors to the stage, many for the first time. She was an expert at casting, training, and inspiring her actors to discover their talents and experience the exciting teamwork of bringing drama alive for an audience. During her Barn Theatre years, she also occasionally acted in plays produced by Western Washington University and the Bellingham Theatre Guild where she won an award for a comedic character role.

Ellen’s lifelong vitality extended beyond the classroom and theater. In 1950, she married Kenneth E. Johnson, a ski trooper in the 10th Mountain Ski Division in WWII who then became a Congregational Minister. Ellen partnered with him by directing the church choirs and co-leading the youth groups. Early in their marriage, she and Kenneth climbed mountains in Colorado and Switzerland. Later, they enjoyed swimming, skating, hiking, skiing, and horseback riding with their two children. A trained soloist, she sang in choirs throughout her life, and she enjoyed attending plays and operas with her family. Ellen deeply appreciated the Lord’s creation — mountains, lakes, oceans, autumn colors, flowers

In 1970, Ellen married her second husband, Dwight Kester, also a WWII veteran, an Army Captain in the Battle of the Bulge.  Dwight accompanied her when she led study abroad trips to Europe, presented papers at international conferences on gifted education, and gave teachers’ workshops in Alaska. In 1990, they relocated from California to Bellingham to be near their new granddaughter. Janie. Ellen loved being a grandmother, and she, Dwight, and Janie frequently picnicked at Lake Whatcom and swam in the lake.

In 2010, Ellen and Dwight moved to Edmonds to be closer to family. She continued to direct readers theatre at Christmas and Easter at Maplewood Presbyterian Church, served on the play selection committee for the Driftwood Theatre, and attended classes at the Creative Retirement Institute. Dwight passed away in 2015 at the age of 94. In 2021, Ellen’s heart attack only slightly dimmed her passion and independent spirit. She continued to encourage her children’s and granddaughter’s careers, to enjoy her love of the arts, and to spend time with her family and friends.

She is survived by her daughter, June Johnson Bube, and son-in-law,  Ken Bube, her son Kristopher Johnson (artistic name, Kris Saknussemm), her granddaughter, Janie Bube, and her niece and nephew, Emily Williams (and husband Byron Williams) and Douglas Hill.

Services will be held at University Presbyterian Church, 4540 15th Ave NE, Seattle, on March 19 at 1 PM, with a reception to follow in celebration of this remarkable woman and her many decades of creative work, leadership, and inspiration.