Howard Dale Ellis

1912 - 2014

This memorial was created in honor of Howard Dale Ellis of DeBary, Florida. “Dale”, as his family and friends would come to know him, was born on October 25, 1912 in Newton, Jasper County, Illinois and passed on May 20, 2014. Dale was loved by many and will be dearly missed by family and friends. Dale, his parents, Bruce and Louella, along with his brothers, Wayne and Floyd, moved from Newton, Illinois to central Florida in 1925 seeking warmer weather.

His sisters, Irma and Irene, both married - chose to stay in Illinois. Dale fell in love with the great Florida outdoors as a young man and spent many opportunities fishing on the Saint John's River in Florida. As a youthful man of 18, he married the former Virginia Howze of Orlando, Florida and they spent their honeymoon at Niagara Falls, New York. Dale and Virginia raised three children, Eugene, Alma, and Albert "Buddy” Ellis in Belle Glade, Florida.

Despite raising a family, he always had time to feed his avid curiosity and displayed creativity through his many hobbies and outlets. One such endeavor was that Dale enjoyed Blue Grass and Hillbilly music and as a result, the “Ellis Brothers” formed their own band that played local venues. His creativity served Dale well because he always had a knack for figuring out how things worked mechanically and how to fix them. Later his creativity, curiosity and mechanical skills would come to good use as he was hired by A. Duda and Son's, one of Florida’s giant agricultural companies, to keep the large amounts of machinery within the orange groves operational. For someone that hailed from a long line of farmers and also who understood machinery, this was a perfect match.

As a self- made mechanical engineer, who never made it past the 8th grade, an avid tinkerer and inventor, Dale and his son, Albert, developed a machine for harvesting sweet corn, which he then sold the rights and patent to the company, Chissom Rider. Afterward, he went to Canada and worked building more harvesters for Chissom. Later years, the State of Florida, faced with an invasive water plant species clogging the Florida inland waterways, they came to Dale for help. With only limited resources, he designed a large floating machine that collected and destroyed the “water hoatzins” without damaging the fragile water environment. Interestingly, his inventions were not only limited to his work. During his photography hobby phase, he contemplated purchasing dark room

equipment, but decided it was “just too expensive”, so he fabricated the parts he needed for a fraction of the original costs - by himself.

Also, he was especially active within the communities that he lived in and was a very strong supporter of the local high school football teams. As a matter of fact, Dale and Virginia spent many of their nights under the “Friday Night Lights” watching football together. He said he really enjoyed “watching the kids get better” as athletes and develop their skills. Unfortunately, Virginia passed in 1969 in Boynton Beach, Florida after a long bout with diabetes. Afterwards, Dale moved to Delray Beach, Florida and found solace working within his garage, tinkering, and building a small car race track that neighborhood kids enjoyed.

Later, Dale married the former Wynne Harrison of Chicago, Illinois, after they met at a community event and in 1981, moved to the Abbey Delray retirement home in Delray Beach. Dale was well suited for retirement and at the age of seventy-one, he became an artist and won several community awards for his paintings. Subsequently, he was featured in the Delray/Boca Raton News in 1984 and was categorized as a "late blooming artist" in the article. Overall, he was credited with

painting over 25 paintings and said he was ‘overjoyed” that someone would actually care enough to buy any one of them from him, but he was happy that they just like them. Dale, using his creativity and mechanical skills, also made wooden animatronics displays that were featured to celebrate most

holidays and were thoroughly enjoyed by the residents and visitors alike.

Overall, Dale and Wynne enjoyed a comfortable life at Abbey Delray until Wynne’s passing in 1987. Although Dale remained at the retirement home after Wynne’s passing for a number of years, it was clear by then, that many of his original friends had passed on as well. He said he felt something was missing and that was being close to his family that he loved. So in 1995, and after his 90th birthdayparty, which he celebrated with many family and friends from all over the country, he decided it was time to move to DeBary, Florida to live with his son and daughter-in-law, Albert and Wanda Ellis. He joined the DeBary Art League and participated in holiday festivals, as well as art and craft shows, where he was able to display his unique art. He enjoyed his life there in a little shop in the backyard built to accommodate his many hobbies, which also acted as a sanctuary for him to “tinker” once again with all of his things and “contraptions” that he loved the most.

Later, in 2009, as Dale’s health required assisted living, he moved to the Orange City Rehabilitation Center in DeBary, where he lived out his final days. He passed very peacefully after over 101 years of life and will always be remembered as a kind soul, a wise mentor, a creative and artistic person, a community supporter and most of all, a man who loved and cared for his family unconditionally.

Dale was preceded in death by his son, Eugene and two grandchildren. He leaves behind two children, ten grandchildren, great-grandchildren and three great great-grandchildren. All in all, he left a legacy of over 25 grand and great grandchildren to carry-on.

Also, the family would like to give their heartfelt “Thank-You” to the Orange City Rehabilitation Center and staff as well as “Hospice” for their love and care for Dale over the years and especially during his final days.