In Memory of Ellen Lauterbach Duffy

Obituary

Ellen Lauterbach Duffy, 46, of Atlanta, GA passed away unexpectedly in her hometown of New Hartford, NY on October 8, 2022.

She was born in New Hartford, NY to Margaret Dunn Lauterbach and Richard S. Lauterbach and graduated from New Hartford High School in 1994. An avid swimmer in high school, Ellen swam collegiately at Hobart William Smith College in New York where she graduated in 1998 with a major in Geology and concentration in Education. She received her Master’s Degree in Education from Kennesaw State University in Georgia in 2003.

Ellen worked as a teacher for 10 years in the Cobb County School District, a suburb of Atlanta, where she met many lifelong friends. She subsequently taught at St. Mary's Episcopal Day School in the Tampa, FL area before relocating to Stamford, CT to pursue corporate opportunities in executive and personal training and development

Ellen eventually returned to Atlanta after reconnecting with an old friend on St. Patrick’s Day in 2016. The luck of the Irish was in full force that day as Ellen and her friend, Thomas Duffy, Jr. became inseparable, falling in love and traveling everywhere she could get Tom to go. On October 22, 2021, surrounded by family and friends, Ellen and Tom became husband and wife at the King & Prince Resort in St. Simons Island, GA.

There are few people who packed as many activities into a day as Ellen did. Whether it be walking the trails behind her and Tom’s new home, playing nine holes with her girlfriends, orchestrating happy hours with friends, date nights with Tom, or endlessly dancing in her kitchen to ‘Alexa’ playlists. Her calendar was never empty. She lived life to the fullest every day.

Ellen had a unique ability to see the humor in everything and will long be remembered for her amazing laugh, zest for life and adventure, love of travel, and kindness to others.

In addition to a large group of loyal friends and colleagues, Ellen is survived by her husband Tom and their 14-year-old puggle, Banks, of Atlanta, GA; mother Margaret Lauterbach and father Richard Lauterbach, both of New Hartford, NY; sister Karen von Mantey, husband Henning, and their children Shanna, Parker, and Jared Nelson, of Atlanta, GA; brother Michael Lauterbach, wife Carine, and their daughters Sophia and Nina of Westport, CT; nephew Theodore (Ted) Lauterbach of Los Angeles, CA; aunt Barbara Orellana of Marcy, NY; and cousin Rick Orellana, wife Chris, and their children Carson, Kimberly, and Kira all of Mooresville, NC. Ellen was close to her in-laws, the Duffy family, and is survived by Tom’s parents BJ and Thomas Duffy, Sr. of St. Simons Island, GA; Tom’s brother Dan Duffy, wife Anna, and their children, Patrick and Reese, as well as Tom’s sister Sherry Artesiano, husband Mario, and their daughter, Lola, all of Atlanta, GA. Ellen is preceded in death by her sister, Anne Margaret Lauterbach, her brother Steve Lauterbach, and her niece Taylor Renée Nelson.

A Celebration of Life is taking place on what would have been her first wedding anniversary to Tom on October 22, 2022.

Arrangements were handled by Friedel, Williams & Edmunds Funeral and Cremation Services in New Hartford, NY and remembrances of Ellen can continue to be shared by visiting fwefh.com.

In lieu of flowers, and in an attempt to combine Ellen’s lifelong love of teaching as well as one of her dancefloor favorites, “Jolene,” contributions may be made in Ellen’s memory to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a charity dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting books free of charge to children from birth to age five.