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| Ellis Ray Cohoon |
Ellis Ray Cohoon was born Jan. 11, 1916 to Walter and Grace Cohoon in Waitsburg, Washington. He attended schools in Walla Walla and Ellensburg. In 1936, he enlisted in the 3rd Signal Company at Fort Lewis, Washington, hoping to study radio communications. Before World War II began, he was sent to Fort Ord, California. When war was declared with Germany and Japan, Ellis was sent to the Poston, Arizona internment camp. The company in which he served built a telephone line from a Japanese internment camp (Poston) to Barstow, California.
Later, Ellis helped install phone lines along the newly constructed Al-Can Highway, then was transferred to the 8th Air Force and spent the duration of World War II in England.
After World War II, Ellis returned to the United States aboard the Queen Mary, which was converted to a troopship. He earned an honorable discharge from the Army, and went to work in Civil Service at the Mt. Rainier Ordinance Depot near Tacoma, Washington.
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| Ellis Ray Cohoon |
During the 1950s and 1960s Ellis attended electronics training schools in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, Huntsville, Alabama and Aberdeen, Maryland. He also studied at Hewlett-Packard in California.
In 1963 he was transferred to the Metrology Lab at Tooele Ordinance Depot in Utah. In 1967 he moved to the Metrology Lab at Keyport, Washington and remained in the Silverdale area since. In 1973, he retired from government service. Ellis Ray Cohoon, age 95 passed away on Nov. 23, 2011
He is survived by his wife, Rachelle; daughter Carolyn Peterson (David); son, John (Cathy)and sister, Lois Shelton (Kenny) of Walla Walla.
Source: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/nov/26/ellis-ray-cohoon-95/
