RAFFEE G. (RAFF) ELLIS

April 26, 1931 – June 21, 2025

Raffee G. (Raff) Ellis, 94, of Altamonte Springs, FL, passed away on Saturday, June 21 after a brief illness.

Born in Watertown, New York, on April 26, 1931, Raff was raised in Carthage, New York, where he graduated from the Augustinian Academy in 1948. After serving in the United States Army, he married Loretta Ventiquattro in 1954. The newlyweds made their home in Syracuse, NY, where Raff attended LeMoyne College. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 1958.

While earning his degree, Raff began a career in computer science. He started as a programmer at General Electric, where he wrote the code that tracked the famous Sputnik and other early satellite and missile systems. He remained in the computer industry for 30 years, working in a variety of management positions at General Electric, Online Systems, the University of Pittsburgh, and Digital Equipment before retiring as president of Insystec, Inc., in 1986.

After retirement Raff returned to school, earning a Master of Business Administration from the University of Central Florida in the 1990s. A dedicated bowler, he joined the Professional Bowlers Association and competed nationally for almost two decades. He also began a successful writing career in his 70s. His award-winning first book, Kisses from a Distance (2007), chronicles his family's immigrant journey from Lebanon to the US in the early 20th century. It was followed by the historical novel The Bishop's Curse (2012), which tells the true story of a 19th-century scandal in his hometown of Carthage, and Dam Foolishness and Other Recollections (2014), a book of short stories set in the 1940s. His final book, The Black Syrian (2025), is a memoir about the discrimination he faced throughout his Depression-era childhood as the son of Arab immigrants in small town America.

The Black Syrian was published by and benefits ACCESS (The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services). The Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan is an ACCESS project. Raff donated a number of items to the Museum, including his book collection of Arab and Arab American history and literature.

Raff was a longtime activist and supporter of Arab American organizations. In the early 1970s, he helped to found the National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA), a predecessor of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). In that capacity, he met with foreign dignitaries as well as celebrities. During a state dinner given by President Gerald Ford for King Hussein of Jordan, Raff and Loretta exchanged greetings with Muhammad Ali. To the end of his life, Raff remained passionately interested in the Middle East and in the establishment of a free Palestine.

Raff is survived by his wife of 71 years, Loretta (Ventiquattro) Ellis; two sons, Christopher Ellis of Fairview, TN, and Matthew Ellis of Blackwood, NJ; three daughters, Angele Ellis of Pittsburgh, PA, Diana Ellis of Winter Park, FL, and Rafaela Ellis of Lakeland, FL; two grandchildren, Dominic Ellis and Maria Ellis of Blackwood, NJ, and a brother, Rev. Kail C. Ellis, OSA, of Villanova, PA. He was preceded in death by his parents, Toufiq and Angele (Hobeiche) Ellis; two brothers, Delor Ellis and Rev. Alfred M. Ellis, OSA; and two sisters, Sr. Marie Angele Ellis, SSJ and Alfreda Ellis.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to LeMoyne College https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/39456/donations/new or ACCESS https://19997a.blackbaudhosting.com/19997a/ACCESS.

Interment will take place in the St. James Cemetery, Carthage, at a future date.

Arrangements are in the care of the Bezanilla-McGraw Funeral Home located at 518 State Street, Carthage NY 13619. Online condolences in his memory can be made to www.bezanillafh.com