DOVER-FOXCROFT – Dr. John W. Ellery, 94, husband of the late Janice R. (Randall) Ellery, died Feb. 1, 2011, at a local hospital. He was born Sept. 15, 1916, in Danvers, Mass., son of the late Frank Brooks and Clara Helen (Ferguson) Ellery.
He graduated from Holten High School, Danvers, Mass., and graduated cum laude in 1938 from Bowdoin College with a Bachelor of Science degree in historia. While in college he worked summers as a hutman at the Lakes of the Clouds Hut on Mount Washington, N.H., for the Appalachian Mountain Club in 1936 and 1937. In 1941 he and his wife were hutmasters of Zealand Falls Hut run by the Appalachian Mountain Club. He taught high school in Sabattus and Danvers, Mass., from 1938 to 1942. He left the education field in 1942 and went on to graduate from Northern Illinois College of Optometry. Dr. Ellery practiced optometry in Portland and then Dover-Foxcroft for 36 years, retiring in 1983. He was a member, director and past president of Maine Optometric Association and New England Council of Optometrists. He served many years on the governor’s Health and Welfare Council. He served 10 years as a member of Maine Board of Registration and Examination in Optometry. He served a term as selectman in Dover-Foxcroft, was an incorporator of Piscataquis Savings Bank and a member of Thompson Free Library for many years. He was a member of Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis Club for more than 30 years, and a member and former deacon of Dover-Foxcroft Congregational Church. His Masonic affiliations include Triangle Lodge No. 1 AF & AM, Portland, and Scottish Rite Bodies. He was also a member of Anah Temple AAONMS, Bangor.
Dr. Ellery is survived by his three loving daughters, Judith Rogers Ellery of Dover-Foxcroft, Marcia Brooks Ellery and her husband, Derek Hurdle, of Bedford, Mass., and Bermuda, and Nancy V. Celis and her husband, Dr. Esteban Celis, of Tampa, Fla.; seven grandchildren, John R. Ellery, Justin E. Stern, Julia T. Ryan, Peter R. Stern, Sebastian Celis, Stephen A. Celis and David V. Celis; four great-grandchildren, Madeline R. Ellery, Kate M. Ellery, Mark J. Ryan and Brendan E. Celis; several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by two brothers, Richard V. Ellery and William C. Ellery; and three sisters, Elizabeth Raley, Josephine Bragner and Ruth Thurston. He will be greatly missed by his daughters and his caregiver of six years, Diane Villane, who he thought of as a fourth daughter.
A graveside memorial service will be held in the spring for family and friends in the family lot at Rural Grove Cemetery, Dover-Foxcroft. Arrangements are in the care of Lary Funeral Home, Dover-Foxcroft. Messages of condolence and memories may be expressed at
www.laryfuneralhome.com.