Ellen Sigrid Marie Bengtson was born Oct. 8, 1991, in Richland, Washington and died Aug. 2, 2020 in a tragic accident.

Ellen was an environmental engineer at Cambrex Charles City Inc., having earned her Bachelor’s Degree in chemical engineering from Yale University and her Master’s Degree in chemical engineering from Columbia University in New York.

She was raised in Richland, Washington, where she graduated from Richland High School in 2010. She also received a high school diploma from Stanford University’s online high school through their Education Program for Gifted Youth. Prior to Cambrex her positions included: research assistant at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (2011); research assistant at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (2012); Chemical Engineering Intern at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (2014); Knowledge Management Intern at Bayer HealthCare in Leverkusen, Germany (2014).

Ellen played piano and double bass and was a member of the Charles City Community Chamber Orchestra. She was an active member of Bethany Alliance Church and a Charles City Rotarian. Ellen was an outdoor enthusiast.

She is survived by her parents, Peter and Jo Ann, and her younger sister, Susan.

An outdoor memorial service will be held to celebrate the life of Ellen Bengtson at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, at Bethany Alliance Church’s Center located at 807 S. Main St., Charles City.

The service will also be live-streamed via Facebook. The church asks that all those attending bring a lawn chair, practice social distancing and wear a mask “to show respect and care for others in attendance and to minimize the spread of COVID-19.”

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