Paul Daniel Ellner

Paul D. Ellner, a beloved teacher to many and a lover and perpetual student of nature, cooking, language, food and connecting with others, sadly departed this world on Saturday, April 8th just a few weeks shy of his 98th birthday. Paul, son of George and Celia Ellner, and pre-deceased by brother Conrad, passed away peacefully at his home after living a well-storied and beautiful life. He is survived by his loving wife, Cornelia Ellner, his daughter Diane Myers (Ronnie), his son David Ellner (Abbey), his son Jonathan Ellner (Lisa) and his brother Sid Ellner. He is also survived by a mighty brigade of 7 grandchildren - Aaron, Jenny, Andi, Dylan, Zach, Sam and Ben - and 5 great-grandchildren - Jacob, Evan, Noah, Jesse and Elliott.

Paul was born in 1925 and survived a turbulent childhood fraught with the death of his biological mother at age 3. This tragedy would shape the way Paul saw the world and his role in it for the rest of his life. He strove for perfection in everything he did and focused on making a positive difference in people's lives through his roles as a Professor of Microbiology, his service in the Navy during WWII, his commission as a reserve officer in the US Public Health Service assigned to the Coast Guard and later to the National Disaster Medical System.

Paul is best known as a teacher of post-doctoral fellows, medical, dental and graduate students. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland College of Medicine and went on to teach microbiology at the medical schools of the University of Florida and Vermont and then Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. At Columbia he became professor of Microbiology and Pathology and on four occasions was voted "Teacher of the Year" and "Outstanding Lecturer". He also directed the Clinical Microbiology Service at the Presbyterian Hospital, and in 1992 was the recipient of the prestigious 'Sonnenwirth Award' in Clinical Microbiology. During his career, Paul presented papers at international conferences in Europe, Asia, South America and the Middle East and was a prolific writer of medical literature with an incredible number of professional publications in medical journals and texts. After retiring from teaching, Paul went on to have a second career as an expert witness in microbiological and infectious disease aspects of medical malpractice and product liability suits.

In addition to Paul's many accolades in his professional life, he also had several hobbies and interests to which his dedication and pursuance throughout his life is astonishing. Paul was an avid gardener, cook and writer. He loved to learn languages and in fact, was speaking in Turkish to a friend two days before he passed. He also had a passion for flying which began in the Navy - after serving, he became a pilot with instrument and commercial ratings and flew search and rescue missions with the Civil Air Patrol. Paul loved animals and had many pets throughout his life, of which there are too many to list, but his guide dog and best friend Ray, was with him until the very end. Paul had an unbelievable ability to retain and remember information. He could recite a poem from memory, sing a song from his youth, or tell a story with exact recall well in to his 90's. Paul loved to learn as much as he loved to teach and was constantly seeking information and knowledge. All of this is even more extraordinary given the fact that he lost his vision and most of his hearing in his later years. This did not stop him - his drive to keep going, keep learning, keep experiencing life was insatiable and amazing to witness.

Paul will be greatly missed by many and remembered fondly, with love. His family requests that any donations in Paul's memory be made to the Guiding Eyes for the Blind in Yorktown Heights, NY.