Ellen Elizabeth Hoskins died peacefully, and with the grace and dignity that characterized her life, on March 15, 2019 with family at her bedside. She was one hundred and one years old.
Ellen was born in Cedarville, Virginia, the first of three children of Mary Olive (Hockman) and Harry Rhodes Hoskins. She attended school in Rockland and in Strasburg, Virginia; graduating valedictorian of her class at Strasburg High School in 1935.

Ellen’s first job was at the Weavers Department Store in Front Royal, Virginia. After several years, with Mr. Weaver’s blessing, she relocated to Garfinkle’s Department store in Washington, D. C., where she became the head buyer for their lingerie department. In 1960 she moved to New York City after she was recruited by Vanity Fair
Mills to be their Products Manager. Some of her duties included supervising all of the design and sample sewing staff, educating the (all male) sales force for each new line of garments, and monitoring the retail displays of Vanity Fair’s lingerie. Her vigilance over her product line was legendary, she would actually climb into a store window to adjust the drape on a garment, even when that store was Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s in New York City. Ellen became an expert in lace and fabrics and introduced the “leopard print” in lingerie to the United States. She worked at Vanity Fair until her retirement in 1985.

Ellen then returned to the Hoskins’ family farm on the Shenandoah River, where she had a long and happy retirement enjoying the company of family and friends and the dogs who were her constant companions. In 2013, when she could no longer live alone, Ellen moved to Hidden Springs Senior Living where she thrived, finding another group of friends who became part of her family. At the end of her life, she loved looking out at the Blue Ridge Mountains and reminiscing about the “old days, down on the River.” She will be remembered by all for her kindness and generosity.

Ellen is survived by her beloved nieces and nephews and their spouses: Doran, David, Durwin, and Carol Hoskins; Stephen, Michael and Tiki Scholla (Finney) and great and grand nieces and nephews, all of whom she adored and whose company enriched her life beyond measure.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, March 23th at 10:00 am at Calvary Episcopal Church in Front Royal, Virginia. Interment will follow at Prospect Hill Cemetery. The family will received friends on Friday from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Maddox Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in her memory to the St. Luke’s Community Clinic 316 N. Royal Avenue, Front Royal, Virginia 22630.