David W. Ellis, 51, real estate agent, Big Brothers founder

David W Ellis, 51, of 58 E Pine St, Ephrata, the founder of Big Brothers of Lancaster County, died Thursday morning (7 September 1989) at his home after a long illness.

In 1967, he founded what is now Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Lancaster County.

He had initiated a Junior Chamber of Commerce study which originally determined the need for Big Brothers here.  He chaired the steering committee and selected the original members of the board.

The first Big Brother in Lancaster County, he was nominated as a candidate for National Big Brothers in 1971, and went on to become president of Big Brothers in the county in 1981-82.

He worked as a real estate agent and real estate appraiser, starting his career in 1966.  Among his employers were Holder-Decker Inc, Robert A Smith Realtor and Engle Hambright & Davies Inc.

From 1973 to 1982, he had his own business D.W. Ellis Realtor.

He held several posts with the Greater Lancaster Board of Realtors and in 1976 was elected president of the Realtors board.  He was also a member of the American Society of Appraiser.

He was a 1962 graduate of Penn State University.

Born in Lewes, DE, he was a son of the late George Myron and Dorothy Elizabeth Wallace Ellis.

Surviving are two sons, Joseph Kenneth Ellis of San Diego, CA, and Timothy David Ellis of Pittsburgh; a stepdaughter, Elizabeth Ellis of Lancaster; a brother, John Arden Ellis of Martha’s Vineyard, MA; and a sister Margaret E., wife of Stephen D Wood of Cleveland Heights, OH.