Ellie Whitcomb Looks Ahead Toward Her Retirement Years
By Ruth Lepper

Ellie Whitcomb Photo Courtesy of Jennifer jenkin

Ellie Whitcomb's life has taken a turn, one that is going to allow more time for her to devote to her vineyards, go on trips and possibly work on that book she is writing.

Whitcomb, who turns 80 in November, retired Aug. 1 after 22 years of running the People Helping People Cancer Support Group in combination with the Ramona Cancer Resource Center.

"I said I was going to retire at 72, then 75; that came and went," Whitcomb said. "I took some mental cement and put 80 in it and that's where it is."

A cancer survivor three times over, Whitcomb founded the support group out of necessity.

"People were calling me because they heard I had cancer," she said. "So it was just sharing coping skills and it took off from there."

An untold number of people have benefited from Whitcomb's expertise. She created a safe environment where people could get together and talk about their health problems and situations.

"It gave them somebody to talk to and a place to meet for talking with others who understand," she said, adding the group sessions were for "anybody affected by a cancer diagnosis."

That included cancer patients, their family members and caregivers.

Whitcomb has survived melanoma, colon and bone cancers. She has not had a recurrence since being diagnosed in 1985 and 1995.

"I don't think there is a cure for it," she said. "You go in and have it taken care of, and that's that."

Her husband, Moose Whitcomb, died in 2001 of prostrate cancer. He, too, took part in the support group.

"It was a comfort for him," she said. "He was a big help to the men that came."

Whitcomb hasn't left the work force entirely. She now works three days a week as a receptionist for a local financial office.

She also stays busy with a newly planted vineyard, dubbed "Granny's Vineyard," with her daughter and son-in-law, Sharon and Jeff Uran. The grapes they grow are for the Pamo Valley Vineyard and Winery, run by her granddaughter, Jennifer Jenkin.

On the backburner is a book she started writing years ago. Now that she has more time to do the things that interest her, she just may get back into the writing game. Her book is titled, "Walking Along Endurance Roads."

"It's going to be about cancer and living with cancer," she said. "I hope to finish it now. There's a lot of stuff to add."

Whitcomb has lived in Ramona since 1966. She has been a member of Emmanuel Faith Community Church in Escondido, where she has taught Women's Ministries classes for six years and was a conference speaker for four years.

In past years, Whitcomb served on the Ramona Town Hall Board of Directors and was honorary mayor from 1996 to 2000. She also was president of the Ramona/Julian Healthcare Advisory Council for six years. Ramona Chamber of Commerce chose her for Citizen of the Year in 1994.

She later was a chamber ambassador for six years. The Soroptimist Club named her Woman of Distinction in 1996. She was president of the local Kiwanis Club in 2000 and 2001.

"I do miss the politics of Ramona," she said. "There just comes a time when the younger ones need to get busy and the older ones need to stand by and watch…I do want to see Ramona continue to be a country town but I know it won't. It can't. But we'll still have a country heart. I don't see anyone taking that away from us."