Phil Ellis (2022)

More than any other person, Phil Ellis shaped how Greenville saw itself. As editor of the Greenville Local from 1963 to mid-1990s, Phil oversaw the menagerie of topics—local news, some national news, local correspondents, clubs and organizations, good stories, tragedies—and much more. He was the Local’s main photographer and reporter, as well as one of the town’s most loyal business supporters through his leadership in Rotary, Kiwanis, and Chamber of Commerce. Phil is responsible for the moniker of The Miracle Mile of Norton Hill. The Local remains even today the single best source to analyze Greenville’s goings-on during this forty year period.

            Phil, otherwise known as The General, was born in 1920 in Sunside, NY, to Elgirtha (Ingalls) and Scott Ellis. He graduated from the GCS Class of 1939 and then from Delhi Technical and served in the US Navy for three years during WWII. He worked at home construction and then in the insurance field. He worked at GNH for thirty years and took pride in being instrumental in the founding of the Greenville Medical Arts Building.

            He married Ramona Hueg in 1946 and they had a daughter Ramona (m. Turner Fawkes; ch. Christian, Ethan) and Curt (m. Charlene Manning, ch. Sophia). As Judy Ferrer noted at his memorial service in 1997: “It was Phil's love of music, people, and community that made Phil special. He would tease his tenants, fight the doctors, play the piano, and sing for friends. He will be most remembered for his broad grin.”

 - by Don Teator, Greenville Town Historian