RANSOM A. ELLIS, Jr. (1920-2012)

Ransom A. Ellis, Jr. was born on January 18, 1920, near Aurora, Missouri. His formative years were spent in the Clay Hill area of Barry County, Missouri, learning the value of hard work on his family’s farm. In 1940, he graduated from Southwest Missouri State Teachers’ College, now Missouri State University.

That same year, his Army Reserve Unit, the Houn’ Dog Regiment, was called to active duty preparatory to the beginning of World War II. Throughout the War, Ransom served in the European Theater of Operations, first with the United States Army and then with the United States Army Air Force. During his active duty tour, he was shot down over occupied France and was listed as missing in action for several weeks. With the help of friendly French farmers and the French Resistance, he was smuggled across the lines and resumed his duties. He was discharged from active duty in 1945. He remained active in the United States Air Force Reserve until 1985, when he officially retired with the rank of Major.

In 1949, Ransom graduated from the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Law, with honors (Order of the Coif), and began practicing law in Springfield, Missouri. Ransom practiced with a number of firms in Springfield before founding what is now Ellis, Ellis, Hammons & Johnson, P.C. in 1977. Throughout his professional career in Springfield, his practice was primarily limited to the representation of Management in labor and employment matters. In so doing, he handled many significant collective bargaining negotiations and strikes in Missouri and the surrounding states. Ransom retired from the practice of law on January 1, 2010 at the age of 90 years.

During his time practicing law, Ransom was an active member of the Missouri Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, serving as President of the SMBA in 1985.