Ellery “Ellie” Dolan Curtis, our beloved daughter, sister, sister-in-law, granddaughter, niece, cousin, friend, fellow outdoor adventurer, and colleague in public service, passed away unexpectedly, suddenly, and way too young on April 5, 2025, from a ski accident at Palisades Tahoe, CA. She was 26 years old.
Ellie was born in Randolph, VT, to Chach Curtis and Kari Dolan and older sister and best friend, Lainey Curtis. Ellie was raised in love, in Vermont’s wondrous, magical, and supportive Mad River Valley community, to become the joyful, curious, exuberant, spirited, caring, funny, warm, and adventurous person that we all knew and loved.
Ellie has been described as a force of nature. Really, Ellie was part of nature; a lover of the natural world, particularly its wild side. Perhaps this was a given, being raised in the beautiful state of Vermont. Ellie and her family would spend their vacations paddling, hiking, and camping, which, of course, included building fairy houses among the trees with her sister, in remote corners of wild places, from Downeast Maine and Canada to Alaska. As guests in these habitats, Ellie found her passion for wild places, built a curiosity about the world and its offerings, love of bears and all wildlife, joy for adventure, and resilience to navigate life’s difficult challenges.
Ellie started skiing at the age of two and was as tenacious as it comes on the hill. When she first saw kids wearing that red Mad River Glen Ski Team jacket, she dreamed of having one and was overjoyed to join the Team at age six. Thus began Ellie’s passion for all things skiing: racing, back-country skiing, and Nordic skate-skiing. This passion carried her along life’s ski trail into Waitsfield’s Green Mountain Valley School, where she was a state champion and valedictorian, then to Dartmouth College, where she was captain of the Women’s Alpine Ski Team, an NCAA All-American, and named to the National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team three times.
Most recently, Ellie dedicated some of that competitive spirit to become a pro-enduro mountain bike racer in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was on the podium in her first race and at the top of the podium in her last race.
Ellie’s other passion was for public service. She was dedicated to making the world a little bit better for everyone. Ellie graduated cum laude with a degree in government and environmental studies. She focused her bright, caring mind and young career in the energy sector, working most recently as an analyst for the California Public Utilities Commission. Ellie once stated that she “found her peeps at the Cal PUC” and that a career in the energy sector “could be a doorway into solving climate change and creating a more equitable society.”
Ellie also volunteered her time with local nonprofits and canvassed last fall for political candidates, with whom she shared a commitment to social justice and to help those in need. Ellie recently expressed that she was inspired “to go deeper into the work of caring for others and the land we get to live on.”
Ellie’s family wishes to express their love and deep, heartfelt thanks to Ellie’s extended family and community holding them up. As the earth transitions to spring, Ellie’s family invites you to join them in holding Ellie in your hearts as she transitions to a new place among the stars, wind, mountains, spring runoff, and mycelium. She will be all around us, all the time, always and forever.
