Melvin Ellsworth, Ex-Chief of Fluor, Dies at 79

Services will be held Friday for Melvin A. Ellsworth, a former president of Irvine-based Fluor Corp.

Ellsworth died Friday of heart failure at age 79.

Ellsworth was the president of Fluor Corp. from 1968 to 1976 and was on the board of directors from 1956 to 1985. Since then, he had been director emeritus.

David S. Tappan Jr., chairman of Fluor, said Ellsworth was “a leader in every sense of the word.”

“A man of unimpeachable integrity and good will, he was a stabilizing influence among senior management,” Tappan said in a prepared statement. “He combined superior business judgment with a down-home quality that endeared him to wide circle of clients and friends.”

During Ellsworth’s 45-year career at Fluor, he held various positions, including executive vice president, vice president and general manager of engineering and construction and vice president of sales. He joined the company in 1940 as a district sales engineer.

Ellsworth was born in Paducah, Tex. He was a graduate of Oklahoma State University and held a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering.

He is survived by his wife, Aladine; daughter Marcia of Newport Beach, and son Richard of Claremont.

Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. at Pacific View Memorial Park, 3500 Pacific View Drive, Newport Beach.

In lieu of flowers, the family has suggested donations to the Melvin and Aladine Ellsworth Scholarship Fund, Oklahoma State University Foundation, Stillwater, Okla. 74078.