A memorial service for Irving Lyle "Hook" Ellis will be held 10:00AM Monday August 11, 2008 in the Ingram Chapel at the Methodist Manor. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to the McLeod Hospice House, PO Box 100551, Florence, SC 29502-0551 or www.mcleodfoundation.org, where he received such exceptional care during the last few days of his life. Mr. Ellis, 89, who worked as an engineer for DuPont from 1940 until 1982, died August 8 at the McLeod Hospice House. He had congestive heart failure and complications from diabetes. Mr. Ellis was born in Corinth, Mississippi, and attended Mississippi State University, where he majored in electrical engineering. His lifelong passion for music began here when he managed and played in the Mississippi State Cadets dance band. He recruited and subsequently married the band's lead singer, his wife of 67 years, Neal. He played the trumpet and the piano, was an accomplished arranger, and subsequently participated in bands and singing groups everywhere he went. Mr. Ellis joined DuPont immediately after his graduation in 1940. During World War II he was assigned to the top-secret Manhattan Project, the purpose of which was to develop the atomic bomb. He worked at the Hanford facility in Richland, Washington, where the plutonium for the bombs was produced. He believed in the importance of giving back something to the communities where he lived, and he did so at each of the stops in his career with DuPont. Following the war he worked at the company's plant in Orange, Texas, where he was instrumental in establishing the town's Little League baseball program and building a lighted, fenced, state-of-the-art playing field. All of his teams won championships, and he coached the first Orange Little League All-Star team. In 1954 he was a member of the advanced scouting team that qualified Circleville, Ohio, as a DuPont site to produce the revolutionary new film called mylar. This decision had a far-reaching economic impact on the locale and resulted in other heavy industries moving into Circleville and central Ohio. During his tenure in Circleville he served as president of the local Little League and was active in several of the town's civic organizations, including the Kiwanis and Lions Clubs. Mr. Ellis was a 50-year resident of Florence and an active contributor here, particularly in the area of music. He was a long-time member of the Central Methodist choir; he founded and directed the Florence Barbershop Chorus and several barbershop quartets; and he was a member of both the Masterworks Choir and the choral group "The Entertainers". His other avocations included golf, bridge, and wood working. He was a founding member and the first president of the Florence "Golden K" Kiwanis Club, The Kiwanis Club will provide honorary pall bearers at the memorial service. He is survived by his wife Neal Ellis, of Florence; two sons, Calvin L. Ellis (Judith) of Reston, Virginia, and Irving L. Ellis Jr. (Margaret) of Camden, South Carolina; two grandchildren and five great grandchildren.