Fifty-seven years of bliss

Kitty and Bill Ellis

Kitty and Dr. Bill Ellis celebrate wedding anniversary
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Dr. Bill and Kitty Ellis celebrate anniversary

June 5, 2012

Syndicated columnist and speaker Dr. William C. Ellis this week celebrated fifty-seven years of wedded bliss with his wife Kitty. Today, President Bob Keely asked Ellis to apply the Rotary Four-Way Test in the context of his voyage on the sea of matrimony, and Ellis, a charter member of the club, responded at length as Kitty looked on:

"Is it TRUE?," he asked, reciting the first part of the test. "You cannot lie. Your word has to count.

"And it has to be FAIR! Sometimes the lady rules the roost, and sometimes [with hesitation], the man thinks he does! [laughter]

"And GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS!

"When I speak to high school youth," Ellis said, "I tell them, 'Don't rush into love blindly. It's bad enough when you walk in with your eyes wide open.'" Kitty nodded in agreement.

"And remember this: When you do get married, you marry the whole family. And, so, you build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS. And, believe me, it works!

"We try to do things that are BENEFICIAL to everybody in the family. Our family is scattered from coast to doast and all in between. And this summer we have neices and nephews and grandchildren going somewhere in the world to make a difference in other people's lives. And we're grateful for that.

"And, so, we have the Four-Way Test:

Ellis family
Back row left to right are grandchildren John, Megan and Brody. Front row, Kitty and Bill Ellis thankfully snuggle close to each other. (Putnam Herald, 5 Feb 2010)
Not much has changed in their fifty-seven years together, except now there are children and grandchildren. "We have everything that we always had, and Kitty is more beautiful every day," said Ellis.

A native of the Kanawha Valley, Ellis and Kitty retired to Scott Depot after his serving as pastor of Peoples Church of God in Decatur, Illinois, for 25 years.

In demand as a public speaker and raconteur since his retirement from the active ministry, Ellis and spouse Kitty have released two CD albums of humor and inspirational music.

The Rotary Four-Way Test came from business leader Herbert J. Taylor.

In 1932 the Club Aluminum Products Company in Chicago used high-pressure salesmen to sell kitchen utensils door-to-door. The company was bankrupt - nearly $400,000 in debt. Taylor, the new president of a failing company, developed the Four-Way Test as an ethical yardstick for relationships with co-workers, vendors, and especially clients and customers.

The company paid off its debt with interest in five years, and distributed over a million dollars to stockholders.

When Taylor was President of Rotary International (1954-55) he gave the copyright for his rule to Rotary.

To visit the Bill Ellis web site, click HERE.
To read more about Dr. Ellis, click HERE!

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