Noël Ellman, devoted mother of three sons and grandmother of six, and who resided in her beloved Sun Valley for many years, died on Sunday, April 30, in Santa Monica, California, following a long illness. She was 86.

Noël, a former registered nurse, first came to the Wood River Valley in the mid-1960s with her husband, Edward H. (Ed) Davis, a neurologist. They purchased a condominium at the base of Dollar Mountain, making Idaho their home away from home in Los Angeles.

In Sun Valley, Noël found a community and refuge from life in the big city. In her early years, she was a Nordic and alpine skier, and she played tennis in the summers. She enjoyed hiking in the Sawtooths and the Valley’s fine food. She eventually became an avid golfer.

She was also worldly and well traveled, visiting locales throughout Europe, Asia and Africa.

Born in New York in 1936, Noël Eve was the daughter of Simon (Sam) and Lorraine (née Schrager) Rossant. Her upbringing spanned homes in New York City, Chicago and Houston. Her brothers David and Peter are deceased.

Noël graduated from Edgewood Park School in Briarcliff Manor, New York, and later attended Ohio State University before going to nursing school in New York City.

While working in New York, she met Ed. They were married in 1960 and had three sons—Tony (of Pacific Palisades, California), Adam (of Santa Monica, California) and Alexander (of San Francisco)—who survive her. Her marriage with Ed, who died in 1989, ended in 1982.

Noël and her second husband, Harvard Ellman, an orthopedic surgeon, lived many years on the beach in Marina del Rey, California. Following Harvard’s passing in 1996, Noël returned to Sun Valley and resided most of the year in the Twin Creeks section of Elkhorn.

In addition to her sons, Noël is survived by her daughters-in-law, Jill, Marisa and Evette. She will always be known as “Bubbie” to her six grandchildren, Jack, Charlie, Spencer, Lucy, Addison and Stella; and her treasured dachshund, Tootsie II.

The family held a private funeral service in Ketchum.