John D. Ellis Jr.

1944 - 2019

John D. Ellis, Jr.
1944-2019
John D. Ellis Jr. passed away on Sunday, the 20th of January, at his home surrounded by his family.
Mr. Ellis was a prominent Houston attorney for over four decades. He served as general counsel for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, DC and held the position of Adjunct Assistant professor for the UT Houston Medical School since 1975. He was a distinguished military graduate of The Citadel before going on to serve ten years in the Army. He was a past foreign trial observer for the republic of Germany and the United States Department of State appointed Mr. Ellis as consular general counsel for the Republic of Malta.
John was a graduate of Southern Methodist University School of Law as well as a graduate of George Washington graduate/medical school with a Masters of Science in Forensic Science; followed by an LLM in taxation. Mr. Ellis served on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors, The Houston Bar Association Board of Directors, and was appointed to The American Bar Association House of Delegates. He was a life fellow for the American, Texas, and Houston Bar Association(s) and a member of the American Bar Association House of Delegates and Houston Bar Association board of directors.
Having been a member of the development council for the UTHSC - Houston, he was also a member of the Deans advisory committee for UT medical board. Mr. Ellis was appointed a member of The Texas Medical Board by Governor Rick Perry, where he served from 2009-2015.
In addition to being a member of the board, he also proudly served as lifetime Vice President of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Amongst his countless commitments, John found the time to enjoy the finer things in life including the culinary arts. He earned recognition for his talents in the kitchen by receiving The Ecole de Gastronomie Francaise Ritz-Escoffier.
He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Danielle Ellis; his son J.D. Ellis and his son and daughter-in-law Michael and Julie Ellis, his two stepdaughters, Janna Hanks and Kellyn Hines, as well as two grandchildren.
The memorial service and celebration of John's life is to be conducted at eleven o'clock in the morning on Thursday, the 24th of January in the Jasek Chapel of Geo H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston. Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the adjacent grand foyer.