WELLESLEY, Mass. – George H. Ellis, 85, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, of Andover, Maine, and Wellesley, Mass., died Thursday, Nov. 3, of complications following hip-replacement surgery.

Dr. Ellis was born in Orono in 1920 and received his B.A. in economics from the University of Maine in 1941, for which he was valedictorian.

He served for more than three years in the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theater in World War II and rose to the rank of major by war’s end.

After the war, Dr. Ellis obtained his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University and then returned to the University of Maine to teach economics at the Orono campus. From there, he was called to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston where he first served in the bank’s research department and then as its director of research.

In 1961, at age 41, Dr. Ellis became president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and on the Fed’s Open Market Committee, responsible for determining U.S. monetary policy.

Dr. Ellis later held the position of president and CEO of Keystone Mutual Funds and then president of the Home Savings Bank of Boston. He completed his business career as the chairman of the board of Central Maine Power. Dr. Ellis was the recipient of a number of honorary degrees including ones from Bates College and the University of Massachusetts. In 2003, he received the University of Maine’s lifetime career achievement award.

Dr. Ellis held leadership positions with the United Church of Christ, including as chairman of the Pension Board and also as moderator of the Wellesley Congregational (Village) Church, where he was a member.

Dr. Ellis was a strong family man. He and Sylvia spent their summers and retirement years in Andover on the farm that had been in her family for two centuries. “The Homestead,” as it is called, became a multi-generational family gathering place where groups from church and work were welcomed for many special occasions over the years.

He is survived by his children, Rebecca Hudspeth and her husband, Stephen, of Wilton, Conn.; sons, George Ellis and his wife, Donna, of Wellesley Mass., Randall and wife, Joyce, of Newton Mass.; daughter, Deborah Watts and husband, Lee, of Wellesley, Mass.; his niece, Georgianna Ellis; and six grandchildren.

He was predeceased by his wife of 47 years, Sylvia Poor Ellis, of Andover; and by his brothers, Gilbert M. Ellis and Ernest R. Ellis.

Copy the Story Link