Lieutenant General William J. Ely, age 105, of Delray Beach, FL, died peacefully in the Health Care Center at Abbey Delray South on September 20, 2017. At the time of his death, General Ely was West Point's Oldest Living Graduate. Bill Ely was born on a small farm in Claysville, PA on December 29, 1911. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1933, as a Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. For the next 33 years, he enjoyed a variety of challenging assignments including service in the Pacific Theater with General MacArthur during World War ll, Chief of Military Construction for the Chief of Engineers; Deputy Director of Logistics, US European Command; the Director of Army Research; Deputy Commanding General of the Army Materiel Command and Deputy Director of Research and Engineering for the Department of Defense. Following his retirement from the U S Army in 1966, he spent the next ten years as vice president of the Sverdrup Engineering Corporation in St Louis, MO. Thereafter, he and his lovely wife Helen settled in Florida where he concerned himself with his two favorite things: family and golf.
His awards during his military service included the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Bronze Star. To him, the highlight of his life was when he met and married Helen Mountford. They met in San Francisco in 1940 while he was on leave from a dredging project on Midway Island. Two weeks later they were engaged. Their 74 years of marriage were filled with fun, love, travel, adventure and growing a family. He enjoyed all sports and participated in golf all of his adult life. He shot his age or better more than 2000 times, had nine holes-in-one and won more than 10 club championships. He designed and built a golf course on his family farm, which he and Helen operated for many years. He was very generous with his time and many talents and very supportive of his Alma Mater West Point, The Bethesda Hospital in Boynton Beach and Wounded Warrior Programs.
His wife Helen passed away at age 100 on March 25, 2014. He is survived by his three children: William of San Antonio, TX; Richard of Carmel, CA; and Robert of Wilmington, NC; his six grandchildren Michael, Christie, Cara, Danielle, Kent and Austin and his great grandson Maxwell William Ely Grant. Services with military honors will be held for Helen and Bill at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. Donations in lieu of flowers should be made to the Trustbridge Hospice.