Pauline Wright Ellis

1921 - 2015

January 7, 1921 - July 21, 2015 Pauline ("Polly") Wright Ellis, formerly of Los Angeles and Pasadena, CA, died on July 21 at 94 years of age at her residence in Palo Alto, CA. Polly grew up in Beverly Hills and attended Marlborough School for Girls, Finch College and Stanford University ('42). She briefly considered acting but her father, entertainment lawyer Loyd Wright, forbade it. In 1946 she married Long Ellis, who joined his family lumber business and they raised their children in Longview, WA, and Kansas City, MO, before Long semi-retired and moved them to Pasadena, CA. She lived in Pasadena until 2006. Polly was an active volunteer throughout her life, with interests ranging from the local Girl Scouts to national committees of the Garden Club of America. She was a past President and long time member of Las Madrinas, the support group of the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. She was a 50-year member of the Diggers Garden Club in Pasadena and served as President from 1988-90, during which time she chaired the Garden Club of America's prestigious Medal Award Committee. She was a past President of the GCA's Western Zone. In 1989, she was invited onto the founding Advisory Committee of the Garden Conservancy. She played an active role when the Garden Club of America collected thousands of slides of notable parks and gardens, a collection that was later donated to the Smithsonian Institute. And when her husband of 50 years died in 1997, she took his place on the Naval War College Foundation Board. Polly will be remembered for her devotion to her children and grandchildren and her belief in the importance of family gatherings. Her friends will remember her prodigious energy and her abilities at shooting, fishing and tennis. Wianno Club members will remember Polly and Long for their love of a good show tune, turning heads as they moved swiftly around the dance floor. Her grandchildren will remember her for her hysterical clues at charades, her passion for a good mystery book, and her favorite meal: an all-beef hot dog, split down the middle with catsup and relish. Polly leaves four children (and their spouses): Pamela Ellis Simons (Richard Simons, Charleston, SC), Sally Lamar Ellis (Stuart Taylor, Washington, DC), Pauline Kingsbury Ellis (Michael Ramsaur, Palo Alto, CA) and Long Ellis Jr (Catherine Buckley Ellis, Rowayton, CT) and eight grandchildren. A Memorial Reception will be held in Pasadena in early October. A service is planned for next June at the family house on Cape Cod, where she spent summers and Thanksgiving until recently.