“The foundation would likely not exist today if it were not for Ron,” said T. Duane Gordon, executive director of the MCF. “I looked to him as a true mentor when I came to the Middletown Community Foundation in 2008. He would stop by once or twice a month to visit for a few hours, just sit and chat about what was going on at the foundation as well as tell stories from its early years.
“He was one of the real guiding forces I looked to in developing my path in this role and I’m deeply saddened that he is gone, but pleased that we can continue his legacy with every dollar the foundation gives back to the community,” he said.
Gordon said Ely’s daughter, Andrea Carrington, notified him of Ely’s death Tuesday afternoon.
The foundation started in 1976 as a component of Middletown United Way, but it remained dormant for about 10 years, Gordon said. In the mid-1980s, Ely chaired a committee at United Way that looked at the feasibility of spinning off the foundation into a stand-alone entity. Their conclusion was it was feasible, so Ely and Bill Verity headed up the fundraising committee that secured Elliot Levey’s $1 million challenge gift, Miriam G. Knoll’s $2 million matching gift, and an additional $3.3 million in pledges over a 30-week period in 1986, Gordon said.
When the foundation separated from the United Way in 1986, Ely stepped up in the volunteer role of unpaid executive director for more than two years from 1987 until Norm Hayes was hired in 1989. He served as president of the Board of Trustees from 1986 through 1989. He rotated off the board in 1993, becoming one of the three trustees emeritus in 1994 along with Elliott Levey and Bill Verity.
He remained a trustee emeritus — regularly attending board meetings and participating in discussions — until he moved to Michigan.
While he was serving as MCF’s executive director, he was working with client Miriam G. Knoll in his role at First National Bank to help her create a private foundation, the Miriam G. Knoll Charitable Foundation.
Upon her death in 1992, the private foundation — which is completely separate from the Middletown Community Foundation, although the MCF works closely together on various projects as co-funders — received the proceeds from her estate, $4.5 million, Gordon said.
That corpus has grown and the income been used over the years to fund numerous projects at several charities throughout the community, most notably at her five “favored” charities: Middletown Community Foundation, Abilities First, Miami University Middletown, First Methodist Church Middletown and First Methodist Church Monroe.
Since its inception, Ely served as executive director of the Miriam G. Knoll Foundation in a part-time position until he stepped down and John Peterson was hired about seven years ago.
In 2008, the MCF created the Roland P. Ely Jr. President’s Award to recognize the contributions of its earliest leaders in the history of the Middletown Community Foundation, bestowing the honor upon him its inaugural year.
Gordon said staff members visited him in Michigan a little over a year ago to update him on the foundation’s work and he was “very excited” to hear about the $4.25 million Ready! initiative to improve education in the community, Gordon said.
Gordon was told that the family won’t hold a funeral service. Instead, a ceremony for friends and family will take place as part of the dedication of a memorial bench at MUM during the campus’ 50th anniversary observance Sept. 1.
The family has asked that any memorial gifts be directed to the Ron Ely Fund at the Middletown Community Foundation, 300 N. Main St., Suite 300, Middletown, OH 45042.
About the Author
