Robert L. Ely Jr.

Robert Lee Ely, Jr., beloved husband of the late Rachel Bishop Ely, of Petersburg, VA, and father of Linda Lee Ely, of Alexandria, VA, died peacefully on Sunday, October 2, 2011, surrounded by his immediate family and close friend at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital at the age of 92.

A grave-side service will be held on Wednesday, October 5, 2011, at 3 pm at Culley’s Meadow Wood Memorial Park, 700 Timberlaine Road, Tallahassee.

A resident of Westminster Oaks, 4425 Meandering Way, Tallahassee, Bob Ely was born September 26, 1919 at Mound Park Hospital in St. Petersburg, FL, to parents, Robert L. Ely, Sr. and Nettie Newton Ely, originally of Chattanooga, Tenn.

The family moved to Miami, FL, in 1931, and Bob graduated from Miami Senior High School in May 1936 at the age of 17, and attended the University of Florida, Gainesville, graduating in May 1940, with a BS degree in Business Administration. He was a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity and the Debate Team and a proud life-long Gator.

After college graduation, Bob served as the Asistant Cashier for the University of Florida from May 1940 until February 1941, when he was called to active duty during World War II as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army and assigned to Camp Lee, VA, where he was a member of the original cadre. He met his wife, Rachel Harwood Bishop, in Petersburg, VA, during that assignment in October 1942, and they were married there on January 26, 1943.

Bob’s military career continued to the European theater of operations when he was ordered to Patton’s Third Army and served as a Battalion Commander from 1944-45. In February 1945, at the age of 25, he received an accelerated promotion to Lieutenant Colonel by General George S. Patton, Jr., making him one of the youngest Lt. Col.'s in the Army, and his wife, Rachel, a colonel’s lady at the age of 23.

In May 1945, Bob headed the staff section in the Third Army Headquarters Europe, as Class 1 officer for subsistence and in October 1945, was selected to bring General Patton’s personal belongings from Munich, Germany, to Mrs. Patton in Boston, Mass.

In 1945-48, Bob returned to the private sector and family restaurant business in South Florida, until he returned to active duty in the Army in 1948 and served in Washington, DC, as Chief of Non-Perishable Subsistence and Commissary Supervision.

In 1950, Bob went to Eniwetok Atoll for Operation Greenhouse to build the first permanent U.S. base for atomic bomb weapons testing and participated in experiments for the atomic bomb.

In 1951, he took graduate work in food at the U.S. Army Subsistence School in Chicago, IL, and from 1951-54 was Chief of Purchasing at the U.S. Army Quartermaster Procurement Office in Chicago.

In 1954, Bob attended the Army language school in Monterey, CA, to learn Portuguese in preparation for his assignment as a member of the Joint Brazilian Military Commission in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and advisor to General Leonidas Amaro of the Brazilian Army (September 1954-July 1957); he was accompanied on this tour by his wife, Rachel, and daughter, Linda, who both learned to speak fluent Portuguese while living there. Upon departure Bob was awarded a Brazilian Meritorious Service Medal by the Brazilian Army in recognition of his outstanding performance and support.

Returning to the States and Chicago, IL, in 1957, Bob served as Deputy Commander of the Army Subsistence Center (1957-59), and was promoted to full Colonel in November 1958, at 39 years of age, becoming one of the Army’s youngest.

In 1959, Bob attended the Army Procurement School at Fort Lee, VA, and returned to Chicago, IL, to serve as Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics Inspector General (1959-61), until he departed in August 1961, with his wife and daughter, to serve with the U.S. Army Camp Zama Japan as Assistant Chief of Staff, Deputy G-4 and G-4 (1962-63). In 1963-64 he was selected to organize and command the U.S. Army Depot Japan that supported combat forces in Viet Nam and rebuilt combat helicopters and tanks for the war effort. He was president of the PTA U.S. Army Japan Zama American High School.

Returning to the States in 1964, Bob served as Army Materiel Command Chief of Troop Support and Deputy Chief of Supply in Washington, DC, until March 1967, when he retired from the Army after over 26 years of active duty.

Among Col. Ely’s medals and decorations are: Legion of Merit; Bronze Star (for his World War II Service with Patton’s Third Army); Army Commendation Medal; three Overseas Bars for WW II Service (18 months combat service); National Defense Service Medal; American Campaign Medal; Central Europe-European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four campaign stars: Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe, Army of Occupation Medal (Germany), and the World War II Victory Medal.

Bob entered the private sector in November 1967 when he joined the U.S. Postal Service as the Chief of Purchasing. In 1971 he became and served as the Director of Contracts, a Senior Executive Service position (SES), until he retired in January 1982, when he and Rachel moved to Tallahassee, FL.

In Tallahassee, Bob enjoyed playing golf (he shot a “hole in one” at Killearn Golf and Country Club January 27, 1988 using a 7 wood on hole No. 3 Par 3, 157 Yards, Killearn South Course), and Rachel enjoyed bridge. They enjoyed traveling and regularly visited their daughter and son-in-law in Virginia and friends in Hilton Head and Brazil. Rachel and Bob were devoted to each other and were married for 57 years until Rachel's death in July 2000.

Bob Ely is survived by daughter, Linda Lee Ely, and her husband, Col. (USA Ret.) James E. Crouch, Esq., of Alexandria, VA, half-brother, James Lee Ely, Ph.D., and his wife Betty Jo, and their children, April and Adam( wife Emily and daughters, Madeline and Charlotte), and devoted family friend Sandra Spencer Miller, all of Tallahassee, FL.

Bob was a member of St. Peter’s Anglican Church and Golden Eagle Country Club, Tallahassee. Other organizations are: the University of Florida President's Council; Coral Gables Florida Rotary Club; 65 years as a Free and Accepted Mason; 55 years as a Scottish Rite Mason 32nd Degree; Junior Chamber of Commerce, Senior Chamber of Commerce, and Rotary Club, Coral Gables, Florida. He was an active member of the Association of the United States Army and the Military Order of the Caribao.

The family wishes to express deep appreciation to the wonderful doctors, nurses, and technicians at Tallahassee Memorial Medical Center, and especially to Bob's long-time Primary Care Physician and friend, J. Galt Allee, M.D., for their compassionate care.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that contributions be made to St. Peter's Anglican Church, 901 Thomasville Road, Tallahassee, FL 32303.

Arrangements are under the direction of Culley's MeadowWood Funeral Home, Tallahassee, FL.