Ellen Sagarwala

Ellen was born in Geneva, NY but relocated to Dallas, TX at a very early age. She was raised in the Catholic faith and attended Bishop Dunne High School in Dallas, Texas – a private Catholic school. After graduation, she joined the convent for a brief period of time while attending the University of Dallas, a private Catholic University in Dallas, Texas. She worked in the banking industry for over 40 years at small, independent banks in the suburbs of Dallas, TX until she retired. She was married to Akhtar Sagarwala for 46 years. She had 2 children, Frank Ruzicka and Adam Sagarwala.

Ellen was a devoted wife, mother, sister, aunt and immensely enjoyed her newest role as a grandmother. She adored her two grandchildren, Vivienne and Rohan and would count the minutes until she could visit with them again after a trip to see them. She was loving and kind, but she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind or tell you how she thought things should be – but would try to hide those judgements with “southern charm”. She loved with her whole being and cared for her family above everything. Even in death, she was more concerned that she was letting her family down than anything else.

Ellen was an art major in college and focused on watercolor painting and ceramics. She loved flowers and gardening and enjoyed landscaping. She was an avid sports fan and a die hard Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks fan, but she grew to enjoy the New Orleans Saints. She regularly read novels and liked to pick up new books regularly. She also enjoyed movies and loved the classics – movies that she would regularly quote were The Godfather, Casablanca and Blazing Saddles but she would humor us and tolerate Star Wars marathons when she would visit. She was the one who you could depend on to remember an obscure movie or actor and you could get lost for hours in stream of consciousness conversations that would jump from one topic to another.

Ellen is survived by her husband Akhtar Sagarwala, her sister Mary Holcomb, her brother Richard George, her son Frank Ruzicka and daughter-in-law Smita Ruzicka, her son, Adam Sagarwala and daughter-in-law Amanda Sagarwala, her grandson Rohan Ruzicka and her granddaughter Vivienne Sagarwala.