By Cara Cowan Watts | Cherokee 411
August 18, 1983 – August 7, 2026
Tahlequah, OK
Cherokee Nation Citizen
Ellen Denise (Pritchett) Kingfisher was born August 18, 1983 in Tahlequah, the daughter of Willie and Sharon (Scott) Pritchett. Ellen grew up in the Hulbert area and graduated from Hulbert High School, where she was a cheerleader during her time as a Rider. She later attended Northeastern State University and went on to spend many years working as a nurse aide, caring for others in the medical field. Caring for people came naturally to Ellen. She especially loved children and babies, and if there was a baby nearby, there was a good chance Ellen wanted to be holding, loving on, or spending time with them. But no one held a bigger place in her heart than her son, Memphis. Watching Memphis grow up, play football, and compete in his other sports brought her tremendous pride and happiness. Being his mom was one of the most important parts of her life.
Anyone who knew Ellen knew there was rarely anything dull about her. She was known for her beautiful smile, her playful personality, and her willingness to do something silly just to have fun or make someone laugh. Her family lovingly remembered that she could be a little “dingy” at times and perhaps more than a little clumsy. In fact, Ellen seemed to spend enough time wearing some type of medical boot that it became part of the stories people told about her. She loved fishing, hunting for treasures at yard sales, frogs and elephants, and most of all, simply going somewhere. Ellen didn’t necessarily need a detailed plan or a special destination. If someone came by and said, “Come on, let’s go,” she was generally ready to get in the car and go anywhere and everywhere. And Ellen loved to eat. Chinese food, pizza, pork steak, butter, and even raw potatoes were among her favorites. A good watermelon could make her especially happy. Those little things—the foods she liked, the places she wanted to go, and the silly moments that made everyone laugh—became part of what made Ellen unmistakably Ellen.
On August 7, 2026, Ellen was called to her eternal home. Forty-two years was far too short, but Ellen packed a lot into the years she was given. She loved hard, smiled often, laughed at herself, adored her family, enjoyed a good meal, and was always ready for the next ride or adventure. Above all, they will remember a mother who loved watching her boy play ball and who was immensely proud of the young man Memphis was becoming. The little things that made Ellen who she was will be the very things that make her impossible to forget.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Willie and Sharon Pritchett; her brothers, Michael Pritchett and Paul Pritchett; her sisters, Carma Lee Matlock and Mary Ellen Pritchett; her grandparents; and her best friend, Wallise Denise Standingwater.
