Peter Maring Ellis

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Peter Maring Ellis, beloved husband, father, and grandfather passed away in a plane crash near Promontory Point on December 29th, 2017.

Peter was born in Tacoma Washington on August 6, 1943 to Melvin Carl and Virginia Ewing Ellis. Their young family eventually settled in Portland, Oregon. As a young boy, Peter enjoyed scouting with his brothers and his father, and while still in elementary school, learned to play the flute, beginning a lifelong love of music. He attended Grant High School, where he played in the band, graduating in 1961. Peter eventually went on to study mathematics at Portland State University, where another very beautiful young math major, Sharon Gardner, caught his eye. They were seated nearby each other in one math class due to an alphabetical seating arrangement. Peter liked to tell the story of how he went to class early one day just so he could sit next to Sharon. Sharon introduced him to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, beginning a lifetime of faith and service in the LDS church. Sharon and Peter became engaged, and were married August 3, 1967 in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple.

Peter received a BS in mathematics from Portland State University in 1965, an MBA in operations research from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1970, and a PhD in quantitative methods from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1972. Upon completion of his doctoral work, Peter taught at University of Wisconsin, Parkside, for four years. In 1976, he became a professor in the Management Department of School of Business at Utah State University, where he taught operations research and was a highly published and respected faculty member until his retirement in 2010.

Peter and Sharon had three daughters, Karen Marie, Nancy Kathleen, and Sandra Lee. He was a devoted father and husband, and spent many hours driving his daughters to piano, dance, gymnastics, debate tournaments, band concerts, and flute lessons. He attended many concerts and performances and showed his pride and love in the accomplishments of his family. His daughters and grandchildren can all attribute their good grades in their math classes to his reliable expertise and homework help.

Peter and Sharon had been married for 28 years, when, in 1995, Sharon was diagnosed with cancer. Peter lovingly took care of her until she passed away in the fall of that year. In 1997, Peter was introduced to Ann Larson, an education professor at Weber State University. Ann became Peter's best friend and partner, marrying in the Salt Lake Temple in 1999. Ann and Peter lived in Ogden, where they served together as service missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Throughout his life, Peter loved his church service, and held many different positions. He had a particular fondness for the time he spent serving as an Elders Quorum president, as a bishop in a USU student ward, and the time that he spent teaching the 11-year-old boys in Primary. At the time of his death, he was serving as 1st counselor in the Monroe Branch Presidency. He truly loved those whom he served.

Peter had a zest for life that was shown in his love for lifelong hobbies. He was an accomplished and award-winning photographer, often taking trips with Ann to photograph his interests. He took pleasure in sharing his work with others and teaching the art to his grandchildren. Many of his temple photos grace the homes of family and friends. He loved to play golf with his brothers and looked forward to the annual family golf tournaments. In his later life, Peter fulfilled a long-held dream of getting his private pilot's license, and was an active member of the Hill Flying Club. Peter and Ann loved to take airplane trips together to photograph interesting sites from above. He was an avid runner, and placed in the top 100 in several marathons in his middle years. Peter was famous for his apple and pumpkin pies, and was a master at crockpot cookery. Papa loved to read stories to his grandchildren.

Peter had a very giving nature, and constantly sought ways that he could help and lift others. He was very pleased to be a member of the USU Old Main Society, his donations allowing many students to study math education in his late wife's memory. He was a man of extraordinary resilience, facing many obstacles, including a difficult cancer diagnosis, with faith and courage. He was a pillar of strength to all who knew him. He was deeply loved and will be greatly missed.

Peter was preceded in death by his dear wife, Sharon, and his mother and father, Melvin and Virginia Ellis. He is survived by his loving wife, Ann Larson Ellis, his daughters, Karen (Trevor) Teuscher of North Logan, UT, Nancy (Spencer) Guthrie of Provo, UT, and Sandra (Scott) Fernandez of Seattle, WA, 12 grandchildren, and his siblings, Melvin Ellis, David Ellis, John Ellis, Gretchen Bolender, Daniel Ellis, Samuel Ellis, and Katrina Sugar.

Visitation will be held on Friday, January 19 at 5:30 to 8:00 pm. at the Taylor Canyon Ward Chapel, 1643 26th St., Ogden, UT. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, January 20th at 11:00 am at the Canyon Hollows Ward Chapel, 1550 Rushton, St., Ogden, UT with visitation held one hour prior. Donations in Peter's honor may be sent to the Peter Maring Ellis and Sharon Lee Gardner Ellis Memorial Scholarship in Mathematics and Statistics at usu.edu/peterellis or by mail. Contribution checks should be payable to Utah State University, with instruction in the memo line indicating, "Peter Ellis." Gifts can be mailed to the following address:
Utah State University, Advancement Services Gift Accounting, 1590 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322-1590.
VisitationTaylor Canyon Ward
1643 26th St.
Ogden, UT 84401
January 19, 2018
5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
VisitationCanyon Hollow Ward
1550 Rushton St.
Ogden, UT 84401
January 20, 2018
9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
ServiceCanyon Hollow Ward
1550 Rushton St.
Ogden, UT 84401
January 20, 2018
11:00 AM