Obituary

Ruth Ellis

ROCKLAND - Ruth Bunker Ellis, 84, died unexpectedly, Sunday, April 15, 2007, at her Jameson Point home.

Born Sept. 2, 1922, in Calais, she was the daughter of Willard Bunker, M.D., and Kate Weeks Bunker. Her childhood was spent in Calais and in the nearby village of Red Beach where she lived with her parents and two older sisters. She began her education at Oak Grove High School, later transferring to and graduating from Ricker High School. Following graduation, Ruth studied sociology at University of Maine, Orono.

Ruth met her husband, Edward M. Ellis of York, while at U of M when he tipped his chair back and literally fell onto her desk. The two married June 2, 1943, in Orono. They resided there for one year before Mr. Ellis joined the Marines Corps and served in World War II in the Pacific Theater. Upon her husband's return from the war, the couple moved to York, where they built their home and raised their family.

Although her education was in sociology, Ruth enjoyed working beside her husband at the family insurance agency, The Ellis Agency, in York. In 1968, Ruth began working at York Hospital where she established the first social work program. A lover of the sea, Mrs. Ellis enjoyed sailing up and down the coast of Maine with her husband and many dear friends.

Upon Mr. Ellis' death, Mrs. Ellis moved to Rockland where she was very active as a volunteer at Penobscot Bay Medical Center in the Escort Department. She had a generous spirit and enjoyed doing things for others. She was the first to welcome new neighbors to the Jameson Point community with a homemade casserole and loved entertaining friends and family in her home.

Nature conservation and enjoying the outdoors was particularly important to her. She worked passionately for the preservation of Maine lighthouses, and the health of Rockland Harbor. With a pair of binoculars always at the ready, Mrs. Ellis kept a watchful eye on Rockland Harbor from her living room, assisting the Coast Guard on more than one occasion. She dedicated a granite bench to her husband's memory and planted beach roses at the base of the Rockland Breakwater; a gentle suggestion to passersby to "rest and be thankful."

Mrs. Ellis was a friend to all animal "creatures," which included a faithful (and well-fed) seagull and a pair of nesting osprey in her backyard. She was known in Rockland as the "lady with the golden retriever." She could often be seen with her dog Duffy on the breakwater or greeting the schooner Lewis R. French as it arrived in port. She also took Duffy to local nursing homes to visit patients.

Ruth was also an avid traveler. In the 1980s she toured such far-flung destinations as Iceland, Greenland, the Galapagos Islands, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. Big Band music was another of Ruth's passions. She rarely missed a Sunday evening dance concert with Stan Cattell's Down East Jazz Society at the Samoset Resort.

Predeceased by her husband, Ruth is survived by two sisters, Madelyn Russ of Cape Elizabeth and Katherine Pew of Brunswick; her three children, Timothy Bunker Ellis of Cape Neddick, Kate Wicker and her husband Larry of York Beach, and Marcia Stewart and her husband John of South Bristol; seven grandchildren, Christine Roggenbusch and her husband Robert of Freemont, Calif., Benjamin Bunker Ellis and his wife Jennifer of Cape Neddick, Richmond Wicker of York Beach, Matthew Wicker of Charlestown, Mass., Rebecca Wicker and her fiancé Vince Salemi of Danbury, Conn., Erica Stewart and her husband Lance Baldwin of Washington, D.C., and Samuel C. Stewart of Round Pond, and seven great-grandchildren Zachary, Jacob and Noah of Freemont, Calif., Benjamin, Tressa and Christine of Cape Neddick, and Elias Baldwin of Washington, D.C.

Family and friends are invited to celebrate Ruth's life on Saturday, May 19, from 2 to 5 p.m., at the home of Tim Ellis, 6 Ellis Lane, Cape Neddick.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Down East Jazz Society, P.O. Box 202, Rockland, ME 04841.

Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, Rockland.