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McKenzie River Community Mourns Death Of Local Newspaper Founder

Ken Engelman, McKenzie River Reflections

The founder and editor of the weekly newspaper McKenzie River Reflections has died. KLCC has this remembrance.

“Little firecracker,” “great soul,” and “fun!” These are just a few of the descriptions from friends of Ellen Louise Engelman, a longtime resident of McKenzie Bridge, Ore.

Engelman was born in Sacramento, Calif. on November 20, 1944. In the 1960s, she created a concierge service for emerging Bay Area musical groups like Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead.

She moved to the McKenzie Valley in 1972 and soon met Ken Engelman. They married in 1978 and started the McKenzie River Reflections, known for its colorful local news, gardening tips and columns like Ridin’ the Rapids. Louise Engelman died in her sleep on September 24.

As McKenzie River communities continue to struggle in the aftermath of the Holiday Farm fire, Louise’s friends and neighbors say they will miss her and remember her volunteerism and undeniable green thumb.

The latest edition of McKenzie River Reflections is out Thursday.

Credit McKenzie River Reflections
McKenzie River Reflections Publisher Ken Engelman used his Ridin' the Rapids column to share how he met, married and recently lost his wife and newspaper editor, Louise Engelman.

Credit Ken Engelman
Ken Engelman is publisher of McKenzie River Reflections. He and his wife and editor, Louise, were married for 43 years.

Tiffany joined the KLCC News team in 2007. She studied journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia and worked in a variety of media including television, technical writing, photography and daily print news before moving to the Pacific Northwest.
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