Kristi Ellison Jalics was born on January 26, 1945 in Cleveland, Ohio and passed away on October 24, 2026. She was adopted by Eli and Bernadine Ellison during her first year of life and had an especially close relationship with her grandparents, Alice and Arthur Granat. She lost her father Eli at age five, and her mother later married Charles Ruppelt, who also adopted Kristi. Kristi was later joined by two younger brothers, Karl and Arthur.

In 1971 she joined a Hungarian dance group for fun - and met the love of her life, Paul Jalics. They bonded over the fact that they were both bad dancers… After a whirlwind romance, they married and had 35 wonderful years of adventures and projects together. They were everything to each other and to their three children, Alice, Emily, and Andy. Kristi was warmly welcomed into the Jálics Family and had many wonderful times with her new brothers- and sisters-in-law and her numerous nieces and nephews.

As a young married couple, Kristi and Paul lived in Germany for a few years before settling back in Cleveland. They spent their summers at Lake Chautauqua, where Kristi took the annual construction project in stride, got to know every antique store in the county, and engaged with the history of their Point Chautauqua community. Kristi also enjoyed several more long adventures living in Europe while on Paul’s sabbaticals. Kristi learned to speak Hungarian well, which is quite difficult as an adult. Always intellectually curious in many directions, Kristi was a proud graduate of Cleveland State University with a B.A. in Art, graduating in 1996, shortly before her daughters finished college. After graduating, she mentioned if she had to start all over, she might also major in Geology or English.

Kristi was a prolific reader. Anyone who knew her knew that you could always find Kristi with a book in her hand, or maybe two. Her home had 28 bookshelves, by one count, and that did not include all the bookshelves in Chautauqua. She read absolutely everything, from classic works of literature to mysteries, biographies, or books about history, gardening, Buddhism. and art. She also remembered nearly everything she read, which made her a formidable opponent in Trivial Pursuit. She enjoyed sharing her love of books with others. She cultivated a love of reading in her children, grandchildren, and even some nieces and nephews. In 1997 she joined an online book club focused on her favorite author, D.E. Stevenson, and met many true kindred spirits there who became friends for life.

Kristi also loved gardening, and she was the garden editor for her local newspaper for many years, and was an avid member of various gardening societies. She served for several years as president of the Medina Herb Society, which combined her interests in plants and her amazing creativity as a cook. She never made the same thing twice; the sauce was always different and delicious. She had a special knack for making people feel welcomed and at home wherever she was. Social justice was very important to Kristi, and she volunteered and supported many organizations focused on making the world a better place for everyone and protecting the environment.

She will be forever missed from the lives of her children Alice, Emily and Andrew, and by her four grandchildren Nathan, Sofia, Clara, and Stephen, and her sons-in-law Michael Claus and Ingmar Rauschert. She is also mourned by her sisters- and brothers- in-law Anikó, Mária, József, Christa, Alice, Stephen, Susan, and Ronna; many nieces and nephews; and by her cousins Heather Hodges and Susan Busch. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Paul, brother Arthur, and sisters- and brothers-in-law Isa, Feri, Gyuri, Vilma, Sophie, Ervin, and Barney.

Kristi will be buried at Moore’s Chapel Cemetery in Bath, Ohio.

Please join family and friends for a gathering to celebrate Kristi’s life from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m on Saturday, October 31 at daughter Alice’s home.