PA: Lawes Holloway
Obituary: The Cincinnati Enquirer , Cincinnati, Ohio
Wednesday, February 8, 2006, Page 21
Ralph F. Ellis was a lawyer and one of the first African-American executives at Western-Southern Life Insurance Co. He died Jan. 16 in Billings, Mont., at age 81. "He was a very honest and ethical attorney," said Peter J. Randolph, who attended the University of Cincinnati College of Law with Mr. Ellis. "He was always polite. He never seemed to hold any animosity to the attorneys on the other side of the table. He showed respect to the court, the attorneys and the legal profession. He was the best, as far as I'm concerned."
A native of Connersville, Ind., Mr. Ellis worked his way through Connersville High School by shining shoes. After graduating in 1943, he was inducted into the Army and Mr. Ellis was assigned to the 3918th Quartermaster Gasoline Supply Co. Stationed in Shropshire, England, during World War II, he and his unit joined Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army in spring 1944 and participated in its subsequent dash across Europe. While Mr. Ellis didn't see combat, he worked close to the front lines - supplying fuel to tanks and other equipment. "We were trained not so much to fight, but to work," he told the Enquirer in 1981. "But there is honor and dignity in work." Lives remembered He joined Western-Southern as a claims attorney in 1959. Promoted to associate counsel in 19M, he made second vice president in the law department in 1967. He held the position until retiring in 1987. Mr. Ellis organized a reunion of his all-black Army unit at his home in Madeira - where he lived for 30 years - in 1981. He moved to Billings in 1999.
Mr. Ellis met Germaine Gasperucci in her native Luxembourg during the war and married her there. They lived in Luxembourg for two years before they brought their two infant sons to Cincinnati. Mr. Ellis received a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a law degree from the University of Cincinnati while working as a laborer for the Ford Motor Co..
Survivors include: his wife of 61 years, Germaine; two sons, Jean F. Ellis of Billings, and Jacques P. Ellis Dixon of Muncie, Ind., Barbara Walker of Denver, and Joy Morton of Richmond, Ind.; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Services have been held. Mr. Ellis's remains were cremated.
Memorials: Theodore M. Berry Scholarship Fund, University of Cincinnati College of Law, Clifton Avenue and Calhoun Street, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0040.
Obituary: The Cincinnati Enquirer , Cincinnati, Ohio
Wednesday, February 8, 2006, Page 21
Ralph F. Ellis was a lawyer and one of the first African-American executives at Western-Southern Life Insurance Co. He died Jan. 16 in Billings, Mont., at age 81. "He was a very honest and ethical attorney," said Peter J. Randolph, who attended the University of Cincinnati College of Law with Mr. Ellis. "He was always polite. He never seemed to hold any animosity to the attorneys on the other side of the table. He showed respect to the court, the attorneys and the legal profession. He was the best, as far as I'm concerned."
A native of Connersville, Ind., Mr. Ellis worked his way through Connersville High School by shining shoes. After graduating in 1943, he was inducted into the Army and Mr. Ellis was assigned to the 3918th Quartermaster Gasoline Supply Co. Stationed in Shropshire, England, during World War II, he and his unit joined Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army in spring 1944 and participated in its subsequent dash across Europe. While Mr. Ellis didn't see combat, he worked close to the front lines - supplying fuel to tanks and other equipment. "We were trained not so much to fight, but to work," he told the Enquirer in 1981. "But there is honor and dignity in work." Lives remembered He joined Western-Southern as a claims attorney in 1959. Promoted to associate counsel in 19M, he made second vice president in the law department in 1967. He held the position until retiring in 1987. Mr. Ellis organized a reunion of his all-black Army unit at his home in Madeira - where he lived for 30 years - in 1981. He moved to Billings in 1999.
Mr. Ellis met Germaine Gasperucci in her native Luxembourg during the war and married her there. They lived in Luxembourg for two years before they brought their two infant sons to Cincinnati. Mr. Ellis received a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a law degree from the University of Cincinnati while working as a laborer for the Ford Motor Co..
Survivors include: his wife of 61 years, Germaine; two sons, Jean F. Ellis of Billings, and Jacques P. Ellis Dixon of Muncie, Ind., Barbara Walker of Denver, and Joy Morton of Richmond, Ind.; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Services have been held. Mr. Ellis's remains were cremated.
Memorials: Theodore M. Berry Scholarship Fund, University of Cincinnati College of Law, Clifton Avenue and Calhoun Street, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0040.
PA: Lawes Holloway
Obituary: The Cincinnati Enquirer , Cincinnati, Ohio
Wednesday, February 8, 2006, Page 21
Ralph F. Ellis was a lawyer and one of the first African-American executives at Western-Southern Life Insurance Co. He died Jan. 16 in Billings, Mont., at age 81. "He was a very honest and ethical attorney," said Peter J. Randolph, who attended the University of Cincinnati College of Law with Mr. Ellis. "He was always polite. He never seemed to hold any animosity to the attorneys on the other side of the table. He showed respect to the court, the attorneys and the legal profession. He was the best, as far as I'm concerned."
A native of Connersville, Ind., Mr. Ellis worked his way through Connersville High School by shining shoes. After graduating in 1943, he was inducted into the Army and Mr. Ellis was assigned to the 3918th Quartermaster Gasoline Supply Co. Stationed in Shropshire, England, during World War II, he and his unit joined Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army in spring 1944 and participated in its subsequent dash across Europe. While Mr. Ellis didn't see combat, he worked close to the front lines - supplying fuel to tanks and other equipment. "We were trained not so much to fight, but to work," he told the Enquirer in 1981. "But there is honor and dignity in work." Lives remembered He joined Western-Southern as a claims attorney in 1959. Promoted to associate counsel in 19M, he made second vice president in the law department in 1967. He held the position until retiring in 1987. Mr. Ellis organized a reunion of his all-black Army unit at his home in Madeira - where he lived for 30 years - in 1981. He moved to Billings in 1999.
Mr. Ellis met Germaine Gasperucci in her native Luxembourg during the war and married her there. They lived in Luxembourg for two years before they brought their two infant sons to Cincinnati. Mr. Ellis received a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a law degree from the University of Cincinnati while working as a laborer for the Ford Motor Co..
Survivors include: his wife of 61 years, Germaine; two sons, Jean F. Ellis of Billings, and Jacques P. Ellis Dixon of Muncie, Ind., Barbara Walker of Denver, and Joy Morton of Richmond, Ind.; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Services have been held. Mr. Ellis's remains were cremated.
Memorials: Theodore M. Berry Scholarship Fund, University of Cincinnati College of Law, Clifton Avenue and Calhoun Street, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0040.
Obituary: The Cincinnati Enquirer , Cincinnati, Ohio
Wednesday, February 8, 2006, Page 21
Ralph F. Ellis was a lawyer and one of the first African-American executives at Western-Southern Life Insurance Co. He died Jan. 16 in Billings, Mont., at age 81. "He was a very honest and ethical attorney," said Peter J. Randolph, who attended the University of Cincinnati College of Law with Mr. Ellis. "He was always polite. He never seemed to hold any animosity to the attorneys on the other side of the table. He showed respect to the court, the attorneys and the legal profession. He was the best, as far as I'm concerned."
A native of Connersville, Ind., Mr. Ellis worked his way through Connersville High School by shining shoes. After graduating in 1943, he was inducted into the Army and Mr. Ellis was assigned to the 3918th Quartermaster Gasoline Supply Co. Stationed in Shropshire, England, during World War II, he and his unit joined Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army in spring 1944 and participated in its subsequent dash across Europe. While Mr. Ellis didn't see combat, he worked close to the front lines - supplying fuel to tanks and other equipment. "We were trained not so much to fight, but to work," he told the Enquirer in 1981. "But there is honor and dignity in work." Lives remembered He joined Western-Southern as a claims attorney in 1959. Promoted to associate counsel in 19M, he made second vice president in the law department in 1967. He held the position until retiring in 1987. Mr. Ellis organized a reunion of his all-black Army unit at his home in Madeira - where he lived for 30 years - in 1981. He moved to Billings in 1999.
Mr. Ellis met Germaine Gasperucci in her native Luxembourg during the war and married her there. They lived in Luxembourg for two years before they brought their two infant sons to Cincinnati. Mr. Ellis received a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a law degree from the University of Cincinnati while working as a laborer for the Ford Motor Co..
Survivors include: his wife of 61 years, Germaine; two sons, Jean F. Ellis of Billings, and Jacques P. Ellis Dixon of Muncie, Ind., Barbara Walker of Denver, and Joy Morton of Richmond, Ind.; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Services have been held. Mr. Ellis's remains were cremated.
Memorials: Theodore M. Berry Scholarship Fund, University of Cincinnati College of Law, Clifton Avenue and Calhoun Street, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0040.
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