Ashlee Sue Sell

Ashlee Sue (McKinnon) Sell, beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend passed peacefully into God’s loving presence on Monday December 1, 2025. Ashlee lived a full life that was committed to her faith, family, and friends and that she wonderfully enriched through her love of painting and music.

She was born in Marinette, WI on March 28, 1932, to Shirley (Krohn) and Roy McKinnon. Ashlee and her older sister Jean grew up in Oshkosh, WI. It was there that she developed her love for music and her skill in playing the flute, as well as her talent in drawing and painting. She graduated from Oshkosh High School and continued her education at Wisconsin State College in Oshkosh earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education.

Upon her graduation, she became part of the faculty of Hortonville Union High School where for three years she taught English and served as the school librarian. She also enjoyed advising students in the school plays, forensics, and the library club.

It was on a blind date set up by friends that she met the love of her life, Ralph Sell, Jr. They married in June of 1957 and had four children Erin Bowles (Jerry), Paul Sell (Kathleen), Eric Sell (Cindi), and Carolyn Lohr (Joe).

Ashlee stopped teaching to focus on raising her family, yet she kept painting delightful portraits of her children and stunning landscapes that her loved ones truly treasure. To nurture her love of music she became a long-time member of the Neenah Menasha Music Club where she continued to play her flute in a flute trio with other club members. She also encouraged her children to play musical instruments and to develop a love of music and art.

Ashlee loved to stay active and played tennis and golf with her family and friends. She enjoyed spending time canoeing with her sister Jean at Jean’s cottage on Lake Poygan, and even well into her eighties, she was still out shoveling snow, tending to her garden, and mowing the lawn.

Ashlee was a lifelong member of at St. Timothy Evangelical Lutheran Church becoming more active in the church in her later life, serving as a committee member, counting collections, and attending weekly bible study. Her strong faith in God was a wonderful example for her children, as was the kindness and love she always shared with her family and friends.

Ashlee and her sister Jean had a strong love for each other and they, along with their mother, created a wonderful extended family for their children by making sure they gathered their families together to celebrate all the family birthdays and holidays. This legacy of love and sense of belonging to one large family is something her children will always cherish.

Ashlee is preceded in death by her husband Ralph, her son-in-law Jerry, her parents Shirley and Roy McKinnon, step-mother Velma McKinnon, mother and father–in-law Margaret and Ralph Sell, Sr., her sister and brother-in-law Jean and Jerry Berger, her brother and sisters-in-law Jerry and Nancy Sell, her brother and sisters-in-law Donnie and Sally Sell, and brother-in-law Jerry Fritsch. She is survived by her four children, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be celebrated on Thursday December 18, 2025, at St. Timothy Evangelical Lutheran Church, 473 7th Street, Menasha, WI 54952. Visitation will be at the church from 9:30 AM until the service begins at 11:00 AM. Pastor David Skarsten will officiate. A private burial will take place in the spring at St. Mary Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers the family will make donations to charities Ashlee supported.