Ely, Claire Gerald 1905-2005

ELY, ALCHON, MOELLER, SLOCUM

Posted By: volunteer (email)
Date: 6/26/2005 at 20:01:34

Claire, the son of Edwin George and Fern Luella (Alchon) Ely, was born July 30, 1905 in Osage, Iowa. He was a graduate of the St. Ansgar, Iowa Senior High School, and later attended the University of Minnesota.

On October 16, 1926, Claire was united in marriage with Dorothy Moeller in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Claire had devoted his entire professional career to the marketing of home laundry equipment. His experience encompassed all phases of marketing from door-to-door selling to the key position he held at his retirement. His first association with Maytag was in 1924 as a retail salesman for a Maytag dealer in Minneapolis – St. Paul area. Later he served as retail sales manager for the dealer and in 1929 he became a regional manager in Maytag’s Minneapolis branch. In 1945, He was transferred to the company’s Kansas City branch as assistant branch manager, and later appointed Kansas City branch manager in 1947. Claire and Dorothy moved to Newton, Iowa in 1952, where they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in 1996. In Newton he was manager of production and market planning. He had been named general sales manager two years later, in 1954 and vice president in charge of the marketing division in 1957. Claire was elected to Maytag’s Board of Directors in 1962. He also served as a director of the Maytag Company Ltd. of Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary. Claire retired from the Maytag Company in 1970 as Vice President of Marketing and a member of the firm’s Board of Directors. In 1967, he was named “Sales Executive of the Year” by the Sales and Marketing Executives of Central Iowa, at their first annual awards dinner. Claire was a member of the Department of Commerce appliance industry advisory committee, and also served on a special advisory committee to the Committee on Consumer Affairs of the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association. He was a member of the board of directors of the Association of Homes Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), having served three terms as chairman of the board of directors of the American Home Laundry Manufacturer’s Association (predecessor of AHAM), and served as a chairman of the AHLMA industry promotion committee. Claire was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Newton, the Des Moines Club, and former director of the Newton Country Club. He was also a member of the Rotary, Hillsbro Club in Pompano Beach, Florida and the Kansas City Club.

Those left to honor Claire’s memory include his daughter-in-law, Frances Ely of Schenectady, New York; his five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren; and his many good neighbors and friends.

Claire was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Dorothy on November 8, 1996; his son, Jon M. Ely; his daughter, Mary Slocum; and his two brothers: Dale and Myrle.

Died February 18, 2005.
-Pence-Reese Funeral Home website