
Ellen Hardebeck, a long-time Owens Valley resident, died at her home in Bishop, CA, on
July 26, 2024 from complications of Alzheimer’s Disease. She was born on July 25, 1939 to
Philip Gundermann, a business reporter, and Louise (LeTourneau) Gundermann, a
homemaker, in Chicago, Illinois. She grew up in Park Forest, IL, and attended school there.
She earned an AB in physics at the University of Chicago in 1961, at a time when there were
few women in science. She became a graduate student at Harvard University, and earned a
PhD in 1965 for early observations by radio telescope of the hydroxyl molecule in celestial
objects. As a post-doc at Cornell, she used the large Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto
Rico to observe scintillation (“sparkling”) of radio sources. When she became a post-doc
at the California Institute of Technology, she continued her hydroxyl observations.
Ellen moved to the Owens Valley in 1972 with her husband, Harry, and her baby daughter
Jeanne. She was very active with the League of Women Voters and served on the Boards of
the Mono Lake Committee and the Inland Counties Health Systems Agency. From 1985 to
2004 she was the Air Pollution Control Oicer for the Great Basin Air Pollution Control
District, and was instrumental in the abatement of dust from Owens Lake. In 2004, she
received the Environmental Award for Outstanding Achievement from the Environmental
Protection Agency.
Ellen is survived by her husband of 55 years, Harry Hardebeck of Bishop; a daughter,
Jeanne Hardebeck of Sunnyvale, CA; a brother, John Gundermann of Hershey, PA; a sister,
Christl Singer of Glenview, IL; and four nephews. She is also survived by two step-sons:
Philip Hardebeck of Needham, MA, and Stuart Fleischaker of Louisville KY; and a stepdaughter,
Eleanor Hawkins of Dillon, CO.
Those wishing to remember Ellen may contribute to Wildcare Eastern Sierra at
www.eswildcare.org.
https://sierrawave.net/ellen-hardebeck-obituary/
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