Santa Rosa - Eleanor "Ellie" Whitmore Bearden, an Oakmont resident who was deeply involved in church and other organizations, died of cancer Monday at a Santa Rosa hospital. She was 59.

She was born in Berkeley. She was graduated from Oakland High School and the University of California, Berkeley, where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority.

Bearden and her husband, Donn, moved to Santa Rosa from the Bay Area in 1968. Her husband was the controller for the Exchange Bank until he retired in August last year.

In the Bay Area, Mrs. Bearden had worked for the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and later in the Research Library for Dow Chemical. In Santa Rosa, she worked for a time at Company's Comin', a gift and home accessories shop in Montgomery Village.

She enjoyed needlepoint, travel and spending time with her family. "She put her heart and soul into her church and community activities," said her husband.

Bearden was a director of the Episcopal Homes Foundation, and a member of St. Patrick's Episcopal Church in Kenwood. She was a past president of Chapter LZ of the PEO Sisterhood in Santa Rosa, and the Sonoma County Alumnae Panhellenic. She was a past national officer of her collegiate sorority, and a former member of the Assistance League of Sonoma County, and the Santa Rosa Symphony League.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by her son, Paul Bearden of Santa Cruz; and daughter, Lisa Bearden of Honolulu, Hawaii.

A memorial service will be 2 p.m. today at St. Patrick's Episcopal Church in Kenwood. Inurnment will be private. Memorial donations may be made to a favorite charity, or Home Hospice of Sonoma County, 1110 N. Dutton Ave., Santa Rosa 95401.