A Celebration of Life was held in Spokane on Saturday, November 20th, 2021. You may view the program at: https://youtu.be/tiPYkHOYtws .
To donate to the Bruce Ellingsen Scholastic Advancement Fund in Bruce’s memory, please contact:
Bruce Billeter
PO Box 30474
Spokane, WA 99223
509.995.0126
Bruce A. Ellingsen was the youngest of three sons to Virginia and Carl ‘Tuffy’ Ellingsen. Bruce grew up in the Hillyard neighborhood, attending Bemiss Elementary and Rogers High School. Bruce was co-valedictorian of the class of 1958 and a three sport athlete at Rogers, earning All-City quarterback honors. Following his father’s ad
Bruce A. Ellingsen was the youngest of three sons to Virginia and Carl ‘Tuffy’ Ellingsen. Bruce grew up in the Hillyard neighborhood, attending Bemiss Elementary and Rogers High School. Bruce was co-valedictorian of the class of 1958 and a three sport athlete at Rogers, earning All-City quarterback honors. Following his father’s advice, he "kept his head up and eye on the main event," continuing his academic excellence at WSU and playing quarterback on the side. Bruce went on to earn his M.D. with honors from the University of Washington Medical School and completed his ophthalmology training and glaucoma fellowship at Harvard. He was a respected physician and surgeon at the Spokane Eye Clinic for over 30 years and mentor to many.
Bruce was an innovator and visionary leader. While at Harvard, he conducted ground-breaking research in glaucoma and later introduced non-penetrating glaucoma surgery into the United States. He also brought refractive eye surgery to the Spokane area. In 2005, WSU awarded Bruce the Alumni Achievement Award for his academic accomplishments, medical practice, community engagement, and commitment to WSU.
Bruce had many successes in his life scholastically and professionally, but he always stated his greatest accomplishment was his family. Bruce met the love of his life, Kathleen Henry, in high school. Although he fell asleep on their first date, Kathleen saw something special in him that blossomed into 59 years of marriage, three children, nine grandchildren, and countless memories.
Bruce and Kathleen fostered their values of the importance of family, service, strength of community, and access to educational opportunities in the lives of their children and grandchildren through their lifelong example.
The Bruce Ellingsen Scholastic Advancement Fund is a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) which strives to provide financial support for programs that seek to enrich and advance students’ educational experiences for the Northeast Spokane community. This allows us to minimize expenses, make grants to various approved charitable organizations, an
The Bruce Ellingsen Scholastic Advancement Fund is a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) which strives to provide financial support for programs that seek to enrich and advance students’ educational experiences for the Northeast Spokane community. This allows us to minimize expenses, make grants to various approved charitable organizations, and maximize the donor's tax advantages.
Our goals will be achieved by:
The Bruce Ellingsen Scholastic Advancement Fund was started in Fall of 2021 in honor of Bruce’s life and accomplishments. The fund started with an initial donation of $250,000 from the Bruce Ellingsen family. Donations in Bruce’s honor are added to the principle of the fund with earnings distributed annually.
2021 Recipients:
Jo
The Bruce Ellingsen Scholastic Advancement Fund was started in Fall of 2021 in honor of Bruce’s life and accomplishments. The fund started with an initial donation of $250,000 from the Bruce Ellingsen family. Donations in Bruce’s honor are added to the principle of the fund with earnings distributed annually.
2021 Recipients:
John R. Rogers Post-Secondary Education Scholarship Fund
Scholarships for students pursuing “T-2-4” education after graduation (Technical and Trade training, 2-year Associate Degree, 4-year Bachelor’s Degree)
Opportunity Northeast
Opportunity Northeast is a community partnership initiative through Gonzaga University serving the Northeast Spokane community to support students and their families in a variety of ways The specific program within this initiative we plan to donate to is the Summer Fellows Program. This program is designed to help Rogers’ graduates in the transition from the end of high school to the start of their post-secondary plan.
Copyright © 2021 Bruce Ellingsen Scholastic Advancement Memorial Fund - All Rights Reserved
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.