John Ellen

ELLEN, John H. Jack, CPCU, ARM, AU John H. Jack Ellen, 84, of Bloomfield, loving husband of Irene D. Ellen, died Wednesday, December 8, 2004 at the Hebrew Home and Hospital in West Hartford. Born in London, England on July 27, 1920, he was a son of the late Herbert F. and Nellie H. Ellen. In 1933 he moved to this country with his family settling in Maplewood, New Jersey, and later became a U.S. citizen. He graduated from Maplewood High School in 1937 at the age of 16. Upon his graduation he went to work at the Yorkshire Insurance Company in New York City. While at the Yorkshire, he met and later married Irene Bauer Ellen in 1947 and they moved to Springfield Gardens, Queens, New York where they made their home. In 1956 Jack was promoted to General Manager for the Yorkshire?s New England region in Hartford and settled in Bloomfield. He then worked for the Continental Insurance Co, and the American Surety Co before joining the Benjamin, Connor, & Walker Insurance Agency as a Vice-President, where he brokered the insurance for the nuclear power industry. He later worked as a Vice-President at the Arthur A. Watson Insurance Agency in Wethersfield. In 1984, Jack started his own business as an insurance consultant specializing in Risk Management, Fire Protection, and Marine Insurance. He became an authority in this field and was called to testify as an expert witness in many court cases. Jack received his Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter CPCU designation from the American Institute for Property and Liability Underwriters, Inc in 1963, and later served as a member of their Board of Ethical Inquiry. He received his diploma in Risk Management from the Insurance Institute of America in 1967, and was elected as a Technologist by the Society of Fire Protection Engineers in 1982. He was recognized as an Associate in Underwriting for Property and Liability Underwriting by the IIA in 1988. Jack was certified as a Fire Inspector II by the National Fire Protection Association and qualified as a Senior Fire Inspector by the Building Officials and Code Administrators International, both in 1991. He was honored with the Mr. Chairman Award by the American Association of Managing General Agents in 1977 and was recognized as Agent of the Year by the Independent Insurance Agents of Connecticut in 1978. He also served as President of the CPCU Connecticut Chapter in 1982-83. He held a life membership in the Honorable Order of the Blue Goose International, and served as the Most Loyal Gander of the Hartford Pond in 1976. Jack also taught at the University of Connecticut?s School of Insurance as an adjunct instructor for many years. He was a former member of the City Club of Hartford, the Golf Club of Avon and the Hartford Club, and twice served as President of the Penwood Association. Jack loved the beach, especially ?the Hamptons? on Long Island, the New York Giants, gardening, Ten Pin bowling, classical music and was a lifelong railroad enthusiast. Most of all he enjoyed spending time with his family. Besides his wife of 57 years, Jack is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Thomas Tom and Maureen Ellen of North Granby, CT, and her son Kevin; a daughter and son-in-law, Maureen and Jonathan Jon Colman of Bloomfield, CT; his precious granddaughter Gillian Colman, and Jon?s children Jennifer, Ethan, Susan, Benjamin, and Jonathan. He also leaves his younger brother Harold Ellen and his wife Joan of Williamsburg, Virginia; his sister-in-law Dorothy Ellen of Hackettstown, New Jersey; his nephews Peter Ellen and his wife Lydia and their children, Alexsandra and P.J., and Kenneth Ellen and his wife Maryann and Ken?s daughter, Christina, as well as his faithful dog and pal, Barney. Besides his parents, he was predeceased by his older brother, Maurice Ellen of Chatham, NJ. Friends may call at Sacred Heart Church, 26 Wintonbury Ave, Bloomfield on Monday December 13th from 4-7 p.m. A mass of Christian Burial will be held at Sacred Heart on Tuesday, December 14th at 11:00 a.m. Burial will be private. Donations in Jack?s memory may be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 1004 Meriden, CT 06450-1004 or to the American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75231-4596. Our family wishes to express our sincere thanks to the staff at the Hebrew Home for the excellent care they gave Jack during his illness. Jack was a true gentleman in every sense of the word and we will all miss him dearly.

John Ellen

July 27, 1920 - December 8, 2004