Mary Ellen Egbert died on April 19, 2007 at Sacred Heart Hospital. She was born on March 10, 1907, in Peoria, Illinois to Paul and Emma (Asperger) Fritsche. She attended Peoria public schools, and spent her first two college years at Bradley University before transferring to Knox College, Galesburg, Il where she graduated in 1929 with a degree in Classics (Latin and Greek), and where she met her future husband. She taught high school Latin for two years prior to her marriage on October 8, 1932, to Clifton L. Egbert. 
 
She lived in Kewanee, IL for a number of years where her husband was appointed General Agent in Eau Claire for Northwestern Mutual. Mary Ellen was an active member of the First Congregational United Church of Christ. She was an avid painter well into her 80's, having taken lessons from a number of local artists.