Calkins Media co-owner, vice president Ellis dies at 82
WILLINGBORO, N.J. (AP) – Calkins Media co-owner and vice president Shirley Calkins Ellis has died at age 82.
The company announced Ellis died Saturday of natural causes in Burlington County, N.J.
Calkins CEO Mark Contreras said Ellis, along with her co-owner sisters, “created an environment of tireless commitment to serving the communities where we operate.”
“We are fortunate that her enduring commitment to high-quality journalism and continued devotion to community service will continue to be actively and energetically represented by the Ellis family moving forward,” he said.
Calkins Media owns a number of community newspapers and TV stations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida and Alabama. They include: the Herald-Standard in Uniontown; the Bucks County Courier Times in Tullytown; The Intelligencer in Doylestown; the Burlington County Times in Willingboro, N.J.; the South Dade News Leader in Homestead, Fla.; WAAY-TV in Huntsville, Ala.; WTXL-TV in Tallahassee, Fla.; and WWSB-TV in Sarasota, Fla.
Ellis’ father founded the company in 1937. She and her siblings – the late Carolyn Smith, Sandra Hardy and Stanley Calkins Jr. – inherited the business when their father died in 1973. The sisters bought out their brother in 1984.
Besides her professional work, Ellis was passionate about philanthropy. She established a scholarship in the name of her late husband, and organized the Ellis Family Charitable Foundation. Her son says the foundation has given about $750,000 to arts, community and civic groups that serve the people of Burlington County.
She is survived by her two sons; grandchildren and great-grandchildren; her sister Sandra Hardy and brother S.W. “Bill” Calkins Jr. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
Instead of flowers, the family has asked for donations to the Ellis Family Charitable Foundation, dedicated to supporting not-for-profit organizations in Burlington County; the Marvin E. Ellis/S.W.Calkins Memorial Scholarship at Rowan College at Burlington County; or the S.W. Calkins Scholarship at Penn State.