MINNIE G. ELLIS
NORWICH – Minnie G. Ellis, 96, of Norwich, passed away peacefully, and with full faith in God, on Sunday 2/22/15 in Chenango Memorial Hospital, after a brief illness. Minnie was a local businesswoman, active member of the community, and friend to a great many. She was born in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, to the Rev. Daniel and Helen Baroody George and attended schools in Geneva, NY. She married G. Donald Ellis in 1948 and raised two children. Minnie owned and operated hair salons in Geneva and Seneca Falls, competed in hair fashion competitions, and judged cosmetology student competitions. She was a charter member of the Seneca Falls Business and Professional Women organization. Upon relocating to Norwich in 1962, she established and ran Minnie’s Beauty Shoppe for some 20 years, during and after which she assisted her husband for 15 years in the operation of an H and R Block tax preparation office. While raising her children, Minnie was busy as a Boy Scout den mother, a Girl Scout troop leader, an elementary school room mother, and a Band Parents booster. She was a devoted and active parishioner of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, where she served for many years in the Altar Guild, as treasurer of Emmanuel Women, as a Sunday School teacher, and as an usher/greeter. Minnie was a long time member, and a former president and treasurer, of the North Norwich Garden Club, was a member of the Norwich Home Bureau, which she served as first vice president and scholarship chairperson, and as an active member of the Republican Party worked as a clerk and inspector for the Board of Elections on election days for many years. Minnie was a charter member of the Norwich Elks 1222 Lodge Women’s Auxiliary, and competed in the Elks bowling league for years. She volunteered her help during many events and activities of the local Red Cross, the Chenango County museum, and the American Cancer society. She enjoyed learning about and creating a wide variety of crafted items, including ceramics, quilts, caned chairs, and knitted/crocheted items. Minnie’s favorite pastime, though, was golfing. She and her husband took up the game in their forties after moving to Norwich, and enjoyed participating in many leagues and competitions, primarily at the beautiful Canasawacta Country Club. Despite her arthritis and shoulder injuries, Minnie developed into a fine golfer, and was awarded a Most Improved Golfer certificate by Golf Digest magazine for her 1972 season at CCC. She went on to win various competitions and flights over the years, and to score two holes-in-one. In retirement, she and her husband played many courses in Myrtle Beach and Florida, and enjoyed following PGA tour events and meeting many of pros. She continued to golf into her nineties, and was especially proud to be inducted into the Greater Norwich Golfer’s Hall of Fame in 2011. Minnie was proud of her Syrian/Lebanese heritage, and was the daughter of the founder of St. Michael’s Syrian Orthodox Church in Geneva. Her homemade Syrian bread was a legendary treat among her family and friends, and Minnie was especially delighted when asked to provide her unleavened bread for use in the consecration service of the Episcopalian Bishop in Syracuse in 1980. Minnie was an energetic, fun-loving, hard-working, outspoken, and resilient woman who was drawn to almost any social gathering where she was often the life of the party. She dearly loved concerts, jokes, hugs, parades, playing cards, going out for a cup of coffee with friends, lottery tickets, dancing, writing lengthy handwritten letters, playing slot machines, learning to play the piano, and the beautiful hills of the Chenango valley. Her enthusiasm and interest in the world did not diminish with age, and she was honored with a plaque in the Women’s Hall of Fame and a write-up on their website on the occasion of her 90th birthday in 2008 (www.greatwomen.org, Book of Lives and Legacies). Minnie is survived by her son, Daniel Ellis, her daughter, Cynthia Ellis Killian, and her son-in-law, John Killian, and by many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband of 48 years, Don Ellis, in 1997, and by all nine of her siblings. Minnie would thank you kindly for any contributions in her memory to Emmanuel Episcopal Church, West Main St., Norwich, and to any programs in any community that support music education.
A memorial service for Minnie will be held on Friday, February 27, 2015, at 11:00 am from the Emmanuel Episcopal Church of Norwich. The Very Rev. Charles Taylor, Rector, will officiate.
Friends may call at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Friday from 10-11 am.
Arrangements are with the R.J.Fahy Funeral Home.