Joseph Walter Ellis Jr.

1928 - 2017

Joseph Walter Ellis Jr. obituary, 1928-2017, Del Mar, CA

BORN

1928

DIED

2017

FUNERAL HOME

Joseph Ellis Obituary

Published by Legacy Remembers on Jul. 18, 2017.

Joseph W. Ellis, Jr. June 17, 1928-July 16, 2017 Del Mar.



Joseph W. Ellis, Jr. was born June 17, 1928 in Jacksonville, Florida and spent his youth in Bridge City, Texas and in Sanford, Florida. While in high school there he played quarterback with the Seminole High School football team, the “Celery Feds.”



Joe served in the United States Marine Corps from 1946 to 1947and served in the Texas National Guard from 1947 to 1950. In 1951, he reenlisted in the Marine Corps and volunteered for service during the Korean War. From December 1951 to December 1952, he saw combat on the front lines with the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Marines in some of the war’s worst fighting.



After Korea, Joe became a drill instructor and trained hundreds of recruits at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. After having seen the horrors of war himself, he felt a deep responsibility to teach other young men how to survive and function effectively in combat.



Joe met the love of his life, Elizabeth Ione Bush, a school teacher and Lutheran Church parish worker, in January 1953 while on leave in Ensenada, Mexico and succeeded in persuading her to be his wife. They married on September 29, 1953 in Granite Falls Minnesota. After a cross-country honeymoon camping trip, they settled first in La Jolla and later in Solana Beach and Del Mar. Theirs was one of the world’s great romances, and they cherished and respected each other in a successful and happy marriage for 64 years. Their son, Reuben Joseph Ellis, was born in 1955. Joe was a loving role model to his son, and as adults they were friends and business partners.



Joe remained in the Marines until 1954 and subsequently worked in a number of positions in the North County area, including at Solana Lumber and Kinetics Corporation. Joe had a true entrepreneur’s instinct that inspired him to found several business ventures. In 1976, he founded Ellis Farms, Inc. and reclaimed almost 400 acres of fallow farmland in Borrego Springs, California as a wholesale nursery specializing in ornamental palms. Nursery operations also expanded to include growing grounds in Pauma Valley and Desert Center. Ellis Farms became a leader in the southern California nursery industry and for over thirty years provided thousands of palms and trees to the region’s “green infrastructure.” Joe always emphasized how grateful he was to the many farm employees who worked with and for him through the years. True to his nature, Joe founded a new agricultural venture, Mount Palomar Avocados at age 87, adopting a new low-water use method of avocado production designed to address California’s water shortage.



Joe was a devout Christian and with his wife a long-time member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Encinitas. He volunteered as a scoutmaster in the Boy Scouts of Americas and supported the Boys and Girls Club. He was to his core a humble man with a deeply creative spirit. He delighted in starting new projects and was busy making new plans up until his last day on earth. He touched and influenced many people, more than he knew. Joe is survived by his beloved wife of 64 years, Ione Ellis, his son, Reuben Ellis, his grandsons Isaac Ellis and Daniel Ellis, his granddaughter Emerson Ellis, his great-granddaughter Aven Ellis and a niece and nephew. He is loved, missed, and remembered.



Memorial donations may be made to the Boys and Girls Club, 533 Lomas Santa Fe Dr., Solana Beach, CA 92075.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

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Sponsored by El Camino Memorial – Sorrento Valley and El Camino Memorial Park and Mortuaries (Sorrento Valley).

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4 Entries

August 1, 2017

Lopez Family

Mr. Ellis, thank you for all the blessings you have given to our family and all the stories you shared with us about your life. Every visit with you we always walked away with new wisdom. We will carry you in our hearts always, Thank you, from Hugo's family. Until we meet again.

July 30, 2017

Ernesto Veloz

Joe, my friend, mentor and boss. Thanks for impacting my life with your knowledge and wisdom through almost 40 years. I'm so blessed to have
known you. I will cherish all the great moments we spent together implementing
your vision for Mt Palomar Avocados. I will miss you!

July 26, 2017

Fred Berry

Joe, You were such a wealth of knowledge and inspiration throughout our entire 20+ year relationship. Always a gentleman, I'm truly a better person for knowing you. You will be missed dearly. May your spirit live on through all of those whose loved and cared about you.

July 22, 2017

Gregg & Lori Johnson

Joe,

We are so very grateful for your loving friendship. We will cherish our fun times and memories we had at your ranch with you in Pauma Valley. You shared your passion and knowledge of a better way to farm avocados and we thank you for that.

GOD LOOKED AROUND HIS GARDEN

God looked around His garden
and found an empty place.

He then looked down upon the earth
and saw your tired face.

He put His arms around you
and lifted you to rest.

God's garden must be beautiful;
He always takes the best.

He saw the road was getting rough,
and the hills were hard to climb,
so He closed your weary eyelids
and whispered, Peace be thine.

It broke our hearts to lose you,
But you didn't go alone,
for part of us went with you
the day God called you home.

Rest in peace.

Our love forever,
Gregg & Lori

Showing 1 - 4 of 4 results

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To offer your sympathy during this difficult time, you can now have memorial trees planted in a National Forest in memory of your loved one.

Funeral services provided by:

El Camino Memorial – Sorrento Valley and El Camino Memorial Park

5600 Carroll Canyon Rd, San Diego, CA 92121

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