Erma Lee (Ellisor) Henske, 100, passed away early morning on Monday, March 3, 2025, at home with family. She was a La Marque resident for 61 years, a beloved wife, sister, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was born on December 19, 1924, and was raised in Houston, TX. She grew up visiting family in the East Texas Piney Woods and spent many summers in Galveston, TX with her cousin Elsie Louise (Voight) Tatum.

Erma Lee graduated from Reagan High School in 1942 as a member of the Reagan Red Coats drill team. She attended Draughon’s Business School and was hired by Swift & Co. as the secretary to the director of accounting and was the first woman to work in their office. She was later in charge of payroll. Erma Lee then worked for Sam and Helen Worden, who invented gravity meters and who later merged with Texas Instruments, doing payroll in the accounting department.

She met her husband, Elmo J. Henske, at a local Houston Parks dance and they married after he returned from serving in World War II. She made her own pale pink wedding dress for their Monday evening service on Sept. 17, 1945. They were together almost 73 years before Elmo passed in 2018. She had three children who she raised in La Marque. She was a member of Peace Lutheran Church, where she worked as a bookkeeper and secretary for many years and volunteered with the Alter Guild and Lutheran Braille Workers.

Erma Lee was a lifelong dancer, storyteller, and mother. She brought laughter to every room and generously cared for her family. She was an avid reader and loved puzzles, numbers, and her cats and dogs. She was a sharp and quick-witted firecracker to the end to her family’s delight.

She is preceded in death by her husband Elmo John Henske; parents Albert Leonidos Ellisor and Elsie Marie Otilia Grabein; her older brothers, Newby Neil Ellisor and wife, Blanche (Robertson), and Malcom James Ellisor and wife, Joe Reese (McVey); baby sister Betty Jane Ellisor; and sister-in-law Edna Lottie (Henske) McAnaney and husband, Frank Aubrey McAnaney.

Those left to celebrate her life are her son, James Elmo Henske and wife, Patti (Bruce) Henske; daughters Diana Lee and Janet Ruth Henske; grandchildren, Kelsey Laurel, Andie Leah, and Nolan Ellis Trochesset and wife, Erin Nicole (Arthur), and Morgan Lee Henske and husband, Dustin Ryan Harrington; and great-grandchild, Orion Arthur Trochesset; and niece Amy (McAnaney) Lochte. Many thanks to her caregivers over the years. Erma Lee loved and appreciated all of your help.

Celebration of life services will be held at Peace Lutheran Church in Texas City on Saturday, March 15, 2025. Visitation will begin at 9:45 a.m. with services beginning at 10:30 a.m. Internment will be held afterwards at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Dickinson, TX.

Pallbearers: Kelsey Trochesset, Morgan Henske, Andie Trochesset, Nolan Trochesset, Dustin Harrington, and Kodie Scharbach

Honorary Pallbearers: Kerry and Christopher Lochte, and Katie Scharbach