John Pope Ellis

John Pope Ellis, 91, died on April 7, 2024, in Boulder, CO.
Born in Mt. Lebanon, PA, on March 30, 1933, to Harold Benjamin Ellis and Stella Pope Ellis, John spent his childhood in western Pennsylvania and attended Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. He then joined the US Navy, serving as an underwater EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) officer at Hawaii Naval Base and Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan. He retired with the rank of lieutenant commander after 12 years of service in 1968.
John went on to earn his JD from George Washington University and practiced law for more than 30 years in Northern Virginia and Washington, DC. He was a partner in the firms of Schwartz and Ellis and later Sher, Cummings and Ellis, both in Arlington, VA. He was active in the Arlington County Bar Association and served as president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. John was a supporter of Operation Smile and traveled with the charity on some of its overseas missions. In retirement, he was active in Rappahannock Legal Services.
John was an accomplished athlete, completing eight marathons, and enjoyed skiing and hiking in the mountains around Crested Butte, CO, where he and his wife, Mary H. Cooper Ellis, vacationed and later resided for 25 years before relocating to Boulder, where they spent his final years.
John was predeceased by his parents, his brother Ben, sister Anne Buzby, and nephew Scott Buzby Jr. His marriage to Monique McMahon ended in divorce. In addition to his wife Mary, of Boulder, John is survived by his daughter Cathy and her partner Aurora Valentine, of Camarillo, CA; his stepdaughters Giulia Onori, of Barcelona, Spain, and Claudia Onori, of Portland, OR; his sister Mary Patrick, of Beaver, PA; nieces Cynthia Buzby, of Weston, MA, and Julie Smith, of Yorba Linda, CA; and nephews Brian Ward, of Maui, HI, and Ken Ward, of Alexandria, VA.

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