Norig “Skip” Ellison, GrM’61, a former longtime Penn faculty member, died on October 21. He was 81 years old.

Born in Philadelphia, Dr. Ellison graduated from Upper Darby High School in 1953. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Lafayette College in 1957 and an MD from Penn in 1961. He completed his medical internship at Tripler Army Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii, and undertook a general practice residency at Walson Army Hospital in Fort Dix, New Jersey.

In 1965, Dr. Ellison was deployed by the US Army to Vietnam, where he was commanding officer of the 447th Medical Detachment assigned to Pleiku Province Hospital. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement in ground operations against hostile forces, the highest honor that can be bestowed on a medical military officer. He completed his military service on a return tour at Fort Dix and retired from the military as a Major in the Army in 1967.

He joined Penn’s School of Medicine’s department of anesthesia in 1967 as an instructor. He was a resident under the mentorship of Robert Dripps. He became an assistant professor of anesthesia in 1972 and also became an assistant professor at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 1976. He became an associate professor in 1978 and a professor in 1982. He ran the department as acting chair in 1987 to 1988, and was vice chair from 1989 to 2001. He became professor emeritus in 2001 and retired fully in 2004.

Penn Medicine established a Norig Ellison, MD Outstanding Resident Award in his honor in 2009.

Dr. Ellison served as president of the Pennsylvania Society of Anesthesiologists in 1982 and 1983, and president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists from 1995 to 1996. He also was part of the data dictionary task force for the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation and the board of directors for the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology.

Dr. Ellison was an active member in his churches at Presbyterian Church of Llanerch and Ardmore Presbyterian. He was one of the founders of VOTE (Voters Organized for Township Education), a nonprofit group dedicated to improving the quality of public education in Haverford Township, where he lived for more than 30 years.

He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Mary; his children, John (Penny), Susan and Chris (Jill); his grandchildren, Ben, Adam (Lisa), Rebecca and Audrey; and his great-grandchild, Eli.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Neighborhood Hospice, 795 East Marshall St., West Chester, PA 19380, are appreciated.

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