Ellen Burtnick, nee Wondratschek, of Clinton Township, NJ, and formerly of North Brunswick, NJ, died on Thursday, January 14, 2021, at the age of 90.

Ellen and her twin brother Rolf were born in Bad Cannstatt, Germany on February 13, 1930 to Gertrude (Fleck) & Willy Wondratschek. She and her brother left the city during WWII to escape the allied bombings. Ellen often talked about the hardships of that time and how she missed her parents and younger brother, Bernd. Those dark years left an impression on her, and later in life she never wasted a scrap of food, paper, or fabric.

After the war, Ellen’s ability to speak English secured her a job as a switchboard operator at a military hospital in Stuttgart during the U.S. occupation of Germany. There she met her future husband, US Army Signal Corps Corporal, Robert Burtnick. After completing his service, Robert sailed back to the states and Ellen and their one year old baby Ron soon followed, reuniting in their new home in New York City on Thanksgiving day, 1947. Ellen was naturalized as a U.S. Citizen on November 9, 1953, at U.S. District Court, NYC.

The family later moved to New Jersey where Ellen worked as a Foreign Editor for magazine subscriptions at McGraw Hill for many years. In her retirement, she loved to knit and quilt and lovingly made gifts for family and friends from her home in North Brunswick.

Ellen’s sweetness has been noted by almost everyone who remembers her. She generously shared her kindness and warmth with anyone who had the luck to meet her.

Ellen will be sadly missed by her younger brother Bernd and her family in Germany; her three sons and two daughters-in-law, Ronald and Alice Burtnick, Bryan Burtnick, Glenn and Christina Burtnick; seven grandchildren, Katherine Piperno and her husband, Steven, Beau Burtnick and his wife, Maddy, Megan Lazovick and her husband, Jeffrey, Darla Taylor and her husband, Luke, Michael Burtnick and his wife, Sandra Cabrera, Sally Burtnick, and Grayson Burtnick; nine great-grandchildren, Everett, Clark, and Wesley Piperno, Nadia and Joni Lazovick, Arlo and Nevara Burtnick, and Junie Taylor; and many dear friends around the world who will miss Ellen’s smile and personality.

Ellen was predeceased by her husband, Robert Burtnick in 2007, and her twin brother Rolf in 2020.

Life celebration arrangements and graveside interment at Washington Crossing National Cemetery will be announced under the care and direction of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ. Please check back on this page as the information will be updated when finalized.

You are encouraged to visit Ellen’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of her life.

In lieu of flowers, for those who wish to honor Ellen, you are invited and encouraged to plant a tree through the Nature Conservancy’s ‘Plant a Billon’ Campaign by clicking HERE.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”