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Jerald Ely Obituary
Born in Scranton, son of the late Frank T. and Daisy Carrier Ely, he graduated from Penn State University in 1942 and enlisted in the Navy Air Corps. Commissioned as a naval officer in 1944, he served until 1946.
He taught school for one year in Bradford, Pa., then owned and operated an insurance agency from 1947 to 1976. When he retired, he turned his hobby of beekeeping into a honey-producing business. In 1985, he was certified as Pennsylvania's first master beekeeper. He taught beekeeping classes and led the Susquehanna County Beekeepers Association. In 2004, the Pennsylvania State Beekeepers Association recognized him as Pennsylvania Beekeeper of the Year for his contributions to the field. As a consultant for Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance, he worked with beekeepers in Egypt, Belarus and Moldova.
Jerry was an active member of the Dimock Community Church. He served in the Wyoming Conference of the United Methodist Church as a member of the Sky Lake board of directors. He and his wife led an annual canoe camp for Sky Lake Camp.
He was a past president of the Montrose Rotary Club, past crusade chairman of the American Cancer Society, past president of the Susquehanna County Forest Landowners Association, member of Harford Lodge 445 F&AM, Hop Bottom, past president of the Susquehanna County Free Library and Historical Society, member of the Nature Conservancy, and member of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.
Also surviving are sons, Kenneth and wife, Debbie, Brooklyn, Pa.; Douglas, South Montrose; and Stewart, Pelican, Alaska; daughters Kristin and husband, Richard Henshaw, Bainbridge Island, Wash.; Jeralyn and husband, Lanny Adams, Dimock; and Jean and husband, Charles Grube, Trucksville; 19 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren; friends, Yasuko and James Straub, Kingston; and caregiver Julie Gregory, Montrose.
Mr. Ely was also preceded in death by three brothers, Wallace, infant Burford and Frank C.
A memorial service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. in Dimock Christian Community Church. Visitation, two hours before service at the church.
Funeral luncheon is imediately following at Gardner Warner American Legion Post 154. Instead of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the EMHS Building Fund, 25 Grow Ave., Montrose, PA; the Susquehanna County Library, 18 Monumnt Square, Montrose, PA; or the Hospice of the Sacred Heart, 207 Locust St., Montrose, PA.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Jerald Ely
Merna/ Howard/ Douglas Mapes/ Colwell
February 24, 2013
Our thoughts & prayers are with you. May God bless & sustain you & grant you strength,peace,grace,courage,serenity & a strong faith. One "glorious day" in God's timing we shall all join on that "Golden Shore",what a "Reunion" that will be!!
God bless,comfort & cherish you with all your precious memories to hold near & dear to your hearts!!
Brenda Knight
February 20, 2013
Dear Ely Family,
My most sincere condolences on your great loss. I have only fond memories of Mr. Ely and the family. My God be with you to comfort you and bring you peace.
With deepest sympathy,
Brenda (Hitchcock) Knight
February 19, 2013
June , Jeralyn and Lanny,
May God bless you during this difficult time. Let God's deep love and understanding help you in your grief.
For he is there to ease the pain and bring your sorrowing heart relief.
Charlie Sara Lee & Sam Strickland Sarasota, Fl
February 19, 2013
June and family..we're saddened to hear of your loss, and the community's as well. Jerry lived a rich life, as evidenced by his wonderful family. Doug & Kathy Goerlitz
February 16, 2013
Le June and family,
I am very sorry for your loss!
Susie (Lewis) Baier
Linda Hackenberg
February 16, 2013
Junie and family,
Sorry to hear of your loss. You and your family are in our prayers. Jerry did a lot for the beekeeping industry.
He was special. David is glad he was able to stop and see you two.
May the many wonderful memories see you through.
With Deepest Sympathy, Love and Prayers,
Linda and David Hackenberg
February 15, 2013
June and family,
May you be comforted by great memories of a treasured life.
With Sympathy Russ & Mary Ann Nowalk
February 13, 2013
Dear Ely Family,
Jerry was like a second father to me during my youth. He was a wonderful, kind, loving man. I often wished I could have been a member of your family. I'm so sorry to hear of his passing. I can never look at a jar of honey without thinking of him!
Sincerely,
Barbara (Moore) Houtz
John Moore
February 12, 2013
Jerry Ely: kind, respectful, gracious, humorous, insightful, father, husband and shining example to all of us he leaves behind.
John Kennedy
February 12, 2013
I'm sorry to learn of Jerald's passing. I knew him as a good beekeeper and a fine gentleman.
Chuck Bullock
February 10, 2013
May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.
Jacquie Magdin
February 10, 2013
Junie, We are all so sorry. I know that your family is at a loss right now, everyone who knew Jerry is. But just hold onto each other tight and know you will be together again. I like to think that he is at a wonderful party right now with my Uncle Rowland and Aunt Kathryn, the Hulslanders, Mr Swackhamer,Carlyle Stevens and Charles and Helen Prentice. I know he is with friends and family. I'll be sending you all my love and healing energy.
Sally and Dave
February 10, 2013
Our thoughts are with family and our friend Stewart in the days and weeks to come.
Marty Moore
February 10, 2013
Mrs. June Ely, Kristin, Kenny, Doug, Jeralyn, Stewart and Jean, on behalf of the Moore family, I want to express our deepest sympathy for your loss. As our families were closely aligned during my youth, I only have the fondness of wonderful memories with the Ely family; player pianos and singing (even if I couldn't carry a tune), swimming at the lake in front of the old cabin, cutting our Christmas tree from your property. New Year's Eve parties, sledding, tobogganing and my first taste of French onion soup dip, Memorial Day parades and Fourth of July picnics. MYF ice skating parties, Sky Lake and family canoe camping trips on Stillwater Reservoir, bee stings and spinning honey, the difference between kilning & tinder. Hunting stories and the fact that one can light a fire in the woods and still continue to hunt deer all day. My personal favorite is that pinochle, is the Jack of Diamonds & Queen of Spades, it's very important to make sure you count your meld before play is started and more importantly, that when playing by Ely rules, Double pinochle is worth 30 meld points. This was a valuable lesson that I learned in Ellenton, during one of our lively pinochle games before the first day of Buck season. I am not sure how my Dad met and connected with Jerry as a friend, but I know it made him very happy to be able to have new friends when he moved from his boyhood home of Athens, AP to South Montrose in 1961. With a retrospective view of childhood memories, I can look to Jerry and your family as one that always brought great enjoyment and fun into my life. However, as I get older, and we lose those who have influenced our lives, I view Jerry as one of the key characters in my life that personally influenced me and who taught me, thru example and deed, never by lecture, how to live and love all people, and how to maintain one's own integrity and morality, and the virtues of family & community. The cadence of his voice, kind and unassuming demeanor, genteel and respectful manners, will forever be locked in my memory. I am sure that I am only one of many that can honestly say they benefited by having the privilege of knowing Jerry Ely. Jerry's teachings, lessons and some of his expressions with live on through many generations; I have already passed many of them on to my own children.
February 10, 2013
Prayers for the family during this sad time. Keep all your wonderful memories safe in your hearts.
Most sincerely
Theora (Myers) Brunner
Kim Hollister
February 10, 2013
What a wonderful man and a great role model for kids, husbands, and men in general. A real gentleman and Christian. Prayers to the Ely family for your loss.
jarrett roan
February 10, 2013
June,
So sorry for your loss
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