Granddaughter of Newspaper Chain’s Founder Dies in Fire

The granddaughter of the man who founded the Scripps newspaper empire and her husband died early Sunday when fire tore through their turn-of-the century home in Scripps Ranch, north of San Diego.

Ellen Scripps Davis, 84, was pulled from the bedroom of her burning home about 3 a.m. by employees who lived at the ranch, San Diego County sheriff’s officials said. She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital burn center.

Her husband, Everett Conley Davis, 87, was found by firefighters in a bathroom near the bedroom. Paramedics were unable to revive him.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation. A large number of artifacts and family heirlooms were destroyed in the blaze.

The home was built by the Scripps family in 1910 and served as a reminder of the original Scripps Ranch, where Ellen Scripps Davis grew up. Over the years, most of the ranch had been sold and developed into an upscale neighborhood.

Ellen Scripps Davis was the granddaughter of E.W. Scripps, who founded the newspaper company.