George Ellis

1921 - 2016

George Mark Ellis, PhD, 95, formerly of Pleasant Valley, Springfield Township, PA, died Wednesday, March 16, 2016 at Saucon Valley Manor, Hellertown. He is the husband of the late Anke Ellis (died July 14, 2008 on their 40th wedding anniversary). He was born in Dunmore, Lackawanna County, PA on January 18, 1921 to the late George Wilson Ellis and Gertrude (Mengelberg). For high school, he went to Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH; he was active in the Boy Scouts and earned the rank of Eagle Scout; he attended Yale University from 1939 through 1943. After graduation he joined the Army, served in the 83rd Airborne Paratrooper Unit and saw action in Normandy, France & the Netherlands. In Holland his gliders overshot their aim and his unit landed in Germany and became prisoners of war. He and his unit went to several prison camps, the last one in Poland in 1945; when the Russians came he was able to get his unit to safety across the Elbe River into the American sector. After the war, he attended Harvard University, receiving his Masters in 1947 and his PhD in 1952 in English History. During the summer he worked as water front director in a Boy Scout camp north of Scranton, PA. He loved foreign languages and traveling. He worked 3 years for the US Government in Frankfurt, Main, Germany from 1952 - 1955. There he met his future wife and family. From 1955 to -1964, he taught English History at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh PA. In 1964 he moved to Ithaca, NY and worked as Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Science at Cornell University. In 1967, he joined Lehigh University as a part time professor of English History and fulltime Assistant Dean of the College of Arts and Science. In 1974, he became Associate Dean of the College of the Arts and Science from which he retired in 1989. He continued advising students and teaching history until he fully retired in 1990. In 1968 he married Anke Hoffmann from Germany and acquired two stepdaughters and a German Cocker Spaniel at the same time. Together they built a full and happy life in their country home (Teichhaus) in Pleasant Valley, Springfield Township, Upper Bucks County. He and his wife were involved in many activities and organizations at Lehigh University and the former Allentown College where his wife taught German. They both participated in the Council for International Student Hospitality (CISH), the Shakespeare Festival, and the various theatre, arts and music performances throughout the Lehigh Valley. He particularly loved the opera and supported the Metropolitan Opera in NYC, which included many trips to NYC for performances. After retirement, he learned Spanish and taught English to Spanish speaking students in the Bethlehem City Library. He and his wife also enjoyed traveling and were able to visit the Scandinavian countries, Germany, England, the Baltic States, Greece, Italy and Mexico. In 2005, Dr. Ellis and his wife moved into Saucon Valley Manor in Hellertown, where they both were happy. Contrary to his expectations he outlived his wife by seven years and was able to enjoy a visit from two nieces and a nephew from California in Oct. 2015. Survivors: He is survived by his step daughter: Ursula M. Hoffmann, M.D. and her dog KoKo of Center Valley, PA as well as by many good friends in the Lehigh Valley, in the United States, Germany and around the world, and several relatives. Dr. Ellis was predeceased by his stepdaughter: Ellen C. Hoffmann (1975). Services: A graveside service will be private at Springfield Mennonite Cemetery. Online expressions of sympathy can be recorded at: www.heintzelmancares.com. Arrangements are by the Heintzelman Funeral Home, Inc. - Hellertown. Contributions: Contributions in his name can be made to Veterans of Foreign Wars, Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University, VNA Hospice of St. Luke's, Griswold Home Care, care of the Heintzelman Funeral Home, Inc. - 326 Main Street - Hellertown, PA 18055.