Robert Ellingwood, 77; Ex-Mayor of Ontario Was Student of History
Robert E. Ellingwood, 77, the mayor of Ontario from 1978 to 1985, died Friday of cancer at his home in Ontario.
During his tenure, he helped create the local Redevelopment Agency and oversaw City Hall’s move to a new Civic Center. He also declared Oct. 15 to Oct. 22 National Joke Telling Week in Ontario.
Ellingwood had a long fascination with history, and was the local American Legion post’s historian. The City Council dedicated the library’s new history room in his honor in November.
A former child actor, Ellingwood was a pastor in the 1960s and had worked in commercial real estate for 40 years.
“I’ve had a hell of a life,” he said weeks before his death. “It’s been a great ride, but I can feel it slowly and surely slipping away.”
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