Edwin Lee Ellis ’39

Edwin Lee Ellis ’39, longtime high school educator and former dean of students at The Athenian School in Danville, Calif., passed away June 15. He was 90 years old. The cause was a combination of complications from stroke, prostate cancer, and pneumonia. As a former wrestler, it took three heavyweights to pin him down. His passing was as he wished: peacefully, naturally, in his own home, and surrounded by his friends and loved ones. He was born in Uremia, Persia, and came to live in the United States at 15 and attended the Stony Brook School in Long Island, New York. He taught at the Chadwick School on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southern California from 1939 to 1942, went back to teach at the Western Reserve Academy to coach wrestling in Hudson, Ohio, from 1942 to 1949, and returned to Chadwick to be the dean of students and director of athletics there from 1949 to 1966. Then, he was invited by Dyke Brown to be dean of students at the newly founded Athenian School, nestled in the foothills of Mount Diablo. He helped build the school from the ground up, and particularly contributed to the development of Athenian’s facilities and sports programs. In his retirement, he remained very active with the alumni associations for all the schools where he taught and attended, and was very highly regarded by the students whose lives he touched over his 68-year career. He was always an example of strong moral character, loyalty, trust, dedication, and perseverance. He was a pillar in his community, and will always be remembered lovingly by his family, friends, students, and colleagues. Among his survivors is a daughter, Ms. Jean An Ellis, 220 Milo Pl., San Ramon, Calif. 94583.