ANDOVER, Maine and WELLESLEY, Mass. – Former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, George H. Ellis of Andover and Wellesley, Mass., died Thursday, Nov. 3, 2005, of complications after hip replacement surgery. He was 85 years old. Dr. Ellis was born in Orono in 1920 and received his bachelor of arts in economics from the University of Maine in 1941; he was class valedictorian. He served for over three years in the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theater in World War II and rose to the rank of major by war’s end. After the war, Dr. Ellis obtained his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University and then returned to the University of Maine to teach economics on the Orono campus. From there, he was called to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston where he first served in the Bank’s Research Department and then as its director of Research. In 1961, at the age of 41, Dr. Ellis became President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and in that capacity served, on a rotating basis with his fellow Fed presidents, on the Fed’s Open Market Committee responsible for determining U.S. monetary policy. He served as president of the bank for seven years. Dr. Ellis later held the position of president and CEO of Keystone Mutual Funds and then president of the Home Savings Bank of Boston. He completed his business career as the Chairman of the Board of Central Maine Power. Dr. Ellis was the recipient of a number of honorary degrees including ones from Bates College and the University of Massachusetts, and in 2003, he received the University of Maine’s lifetime career achievement award. Dr. Ellis held leadership positions with the United Church of Christ, including as Chairman of the Pension Board and also as Moderator of the Wellesley Congregational (Village) Church, where he was a member. He was also very active in civic matters in Boston including heading United Way campaigns and serving on the boards of the Greater Boston Development Organization and the University Hospital. Dr. Ellis was always a strong family man. He and Sylvia spent their summers and retirement years in Andover, Maine, on the farm that had been in her family for two centuries. “The Homestead,” as it is called, has become a multi-generational family gathering place where groups from church and work have been welcomed for many special occasions over the years. He is survived by his children, Rebecca Hudspeth and her husband, Stephen, of Wilton, Conn.; son, George Ellis and his wife, Donna, of Wellesley, Mass.; son, Randall and wife, Joyce, of Newton, Mass.; and daughter, Deborah Watts and husband, Lee, of Wellesley, Mass.; his niece, Georgianna Ellis; and six grandchildren, David and Carrie Hudspeth, Richard, Scott and Karina Ellis and Michael Giroux. He was predeceased by his wife of 47 years, Sylvia Poor Ellis, of Andover; and by his brothers, Gilbert M. Ellis and Ernest R. Ellis. A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13, at Wellesley Congregational (Village) Church, Wellesley, Mass. and 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, at the First Congregational Church, Andover, ME. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to either the Wellesley Congregational Church or the Andover Educational Fund, P.O. Box 32, Andover, ME 04216.
GEORGE H. ELLIS
