June 20, 1926 �" November 19, 2013
Stearns Russell Ellis died peacefully at his beloved San Francisco home, Tuesday, November 19, 2013, after a brief decline in health. Stearns was born to Artemas Russell Ellis and Lila Webb Ellis, June 20, 1926 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He grew up in the nearby town of Winchester and attended Mystic Elementary School just below the family home on 9 Madison Avenue. Stearns graduated from Phillips Andover Academy, class of 1944, and Harvard College, class of 1952. Prior to attending college, Stearns was stationed on a Navy vessel in the Pacific. He served in Greece as a courier for a short while.
After graduating from college, Stearns took a job in advertising at Time Sales Radio and TV. He had a very nice apartment near Rockefeller Center in New York City. In 1962, he moved to San Francisco and served as an advertising manager for Newsweek International. Around that time, Stearns founded the International Advertising Association of San Francisco.
While working for the magazine Stearns obtained his real estate license and eventually made a career as a real estate broker. He eventually purchased a Victorian house that survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. He cherished his house and formal rose garden. Over the decades he acquired New England antiquities and his house was a showcase for many family heirlooms.
Stearns is the fourth of six brothers: Russell, Emmons, Robert, Stearns, Donald and William. He is survived by brothers, Emmons and Robert. Stearns was always very dedicated to the family and shall be remembered as the family historian and for the generosity shown to his nieces and nephews and their children.
Stearns loved the city in which he lived for over 50 years but never lost his fondness for the New England area. Stearns made the long trip to attend the family reunion each June and annual Thanksgiving gatherings. Stearns was deeply attached to Clifton Heights, Marblehead, Massachusetts where his family summered through his childhood.
Plans for a memorial service to be held in Winchester, Massachusetts will be announced soon.