Richard Alan Ellis

Richard Alan Ellis, 75, of Carlisle, died Friday, December 26, 2014 at West Shore Hospital, Mechanicsburg, PA.
He was born on April 1, 1939 in Dayton, OH to the late Robert and Alice (Granger) Ellis.
Richard graduated from Fairview High School in Dayton, OH, received a B.A. in social science at Fenn College (now Cleveland State University) and then received his Master's Degree in sociology at the University of Chicago, where he was a Samuel Stouffer Fellow and then a research associate at the National Opinion Research Center. He was past President of the board of the Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland Valley in Boiling Springs, PA. He was a very talented piano/keyboard player and regularly performed during open mike night at the Holly Inn in Mount Holly Springs, PA. For over 45 years, he provided support to a wide variety of nonprofit institutions including scientific and professional societies, domestic and international economic development organizations, numerous federal agencies, libraries and religious orders. He directed major research projects in locations throughout the US and in over 10 foreign countries. Following service for over a decade as the Director of Research for the Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Association of Engineering Societies in Washington, DC, he was honored in 2009 by IEEE-USA, the American wing of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, with an award "for substantial and sustained contributions that have significantly improved the understanding of science and engineering labor markets by professionals and public policyholders. His career was a lifelong love of science, research and statistics and the ability to creatively write about his research subjects. In the 1960's, he directed research for Nelson Associates, New York, NY, consultants in the educational field. In the 1970's, he was research director for an international economic consulting firm, Checci and Co., Washington, DC, and headed program evaluation projects for the U.S. Agency for International Development and other public and private organizations. In the 1980's, he was research director for the American Association of Engineering Societies, Washington, DC, where he researched and wrote about engineering careers and labor force issues. He later provided research services to scientific groups including the Electrical and Electronics and American Chemical Society. A strong advocate for public libraries, he evaluated library systems in New York State early in his career. While living in Brunswick, MD, he was president of the Brunswick Public Library, Inc., a support group that raised funds to help bring a new library facility to the town in 1989.
Richard is survived by two daughters, Elisabeth Haller Ellis LeBuffe of Dunedin, New Zealand and Christine Ellis Price of Alemeda, CA; a son, Peter Lewis Ellis of Martinsburg, WV; longtime companion Marilyn Zatinsky of Carlisle, PA and seven grandchildren.
Memorial services will be held at 3:00p.m., Saturday, February 28, 2015 at the Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland Valley Church, 2 Forge Road, Boiling Springs.
Hoffman-Roth Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc., 219 N. Hanover St., Carlisle, PA 17013 is in charge of the arrangements.