Willis Irl Else

Willis Irl Else passed away in Akron, Ohio, on September 21,2013, after a brief illness.

He was born in Fairbury, Nebraska, on December 24, 1931, son of Irl Roy Else and
Helen Gertrude Lynch Else, and graduated from Fairbury High School in 1949. He received a B.
S. (Physics) from Northwestern University in 1953, where he was a member of Theta Delta Chi
fraternity, and a M.S. (Economics) from the University of Illinois in 1958 after serving in the
U.S. Army from 1953-56 as an instructor in its Nike Anti-Aircraft School, Fort Bliss, Texas. He
also attended the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago.

In September, 1958, he joined the management training program at The First National
Bank of Chicago. During his years at this bank he headed the Economics faculty at the American
Institute of Banking in Chicago. In 1961 he married Marion Essie Eggers whom he had met at
the University of Illinois, and they had three children born in Arlington Heights, Illinois: Sharon
Lee (1964- ), John Frazer (1965- ), and Robert Irl (1967- ). Mr. Else left First Chicago as
Assistant Vice President in charge of the Financial Services Division in 1969 to join Citibank in
New York City as Vice President of Management Information Systems. During this time, he and
his family resided in Chappaqua, New York. After completing several other assignments at
Citibank (including 18 months when he was lent to the National Urban League to set up its first
automated management information systems which, in turn, led to receipt of the National Urban
League Service Award for 1974) Mr. Else left this institution upon being named President and
CEO of Akron (Ohio) National Bank beginning in January, 1977. His wife, Marion, and three
children moved to Akron the next month. Two and a half years later, Akron National was merged
with other BancOhio banks to form BancOhio National Bank headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.
In 1981, he became a Director of its parent corporation, BancOhio Corporation, and was named
Executive Vice President of BancOhio National Bank whereupon he and his family moved to
Upper Arlington, Ohio. He served in these positions until after BancOhio was acquired by
National City Corporation in 1984. National City named him head of bank Operations in 1985
when he began working in Cleveland. This led to moving his residence to Hudson, Ohio, in1987
where he resided until his death. He retired from National City in 1993.

Mr. Else is survived by his wife, Marion; daughter, Sharon, widow of William Lee Ware,
and their children, Cole William and Elizabeth Else Ware of Stow, Ohio; son, John and his wife,
Dana Gamer Else, and their daughter, Hailey Nicole Else of Chesapeake, Virginia; and son, Robert of
Chicago, Illinois. He is also survived by one brother, Wilbert Harold Else of Georgetown, Texas;
and many nieces and nephews.

Mr. Else was active in numerous organizations. In addition to those mentioned,
previously, he was a member of the Bank Marketing Association where he graduated from its
School of Financial Public Relations in 1962 and later served as Chairman of that school now
known the School of Bank Marketing in 1971-72, member of the Board of Trustees of Western
Reserve Academy from 1981-98 and its Treasurer from 1987-98, Treasurer of the Ohio Synod of
the Lutheran Church in America (now Evangelical Lutheran Church of America-ELCA) from
1983-87, Chairman of the Franklin County (Ohio) Chapter of the American Cancer Society during
1983-85, member of the American Bankers Association for many years where he chaired
its Routing Number Administration Board in 1991-93, member of the Board of Trustees of
Capital University from 1991-94, member of the Board of Pensions of the ELCA in 1996-2002,
and a member of the board for the Fund for Leaders in Mission of the ELCA from 2000-04. He
was, from 1996 until 2009, a director of The Private Trust Company, N.A., Cleveland. He had
been on the board ofthe Hudson Summit Players, now Actors' Summit, since 2009.

Mr. Else's principal hobby was genealogy which led to teaching and leadership in several
societies, principally the Hudson Genealogical Study Group chapter of the Ohio Genealogical
Society for which he served as president in 1992-93 and the Western Reserve Historical Society
Genealogical Committee from 1987, serving as it president until his demise. He also lectured
frequently on genealogical topics and was the author of numerous journal articles as well as The
Complete Soundex Guide (Closson Press, 2002). This book revealed for the first time the fact
that the National Archives (NARA) had been publishing, for at least 40 years, an incomplete set
of Soundex rules-rules frequently used by genealogists to find ancestors in the U.S. Census and
Immigration and Naturalization Service records which, in turn, explained why some genealogists
could not find their ancestors in these records. Indeed, this revelation and another which he
elected not to disclose until now were probably Mr. Else's most significant lifetime
contributions.

This second revelation involves his discovery in 1955 that the U.S. Army's celebrated
Nike I anti-aircraft system used to defend U.S. cities from air attack generally prevented a second
missile from being fired at enemy aircraft in case the first missile missed its target. This was
contrary to the government's original specifications which called for the missile system to offer
at least two opportunities to knock down incoming enemy aircraft. As a result of his findings,
which were quickly classified top secret, the Nike I anti-aircraft system was soon replaced by the
Nike Hercules anti-aircraft system which did not have the one-missile limitation.

The service of remembrance will be held at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 50 N. Prospect St., Akron, Ohio, 11 a.m. THURSDAY, with Rev. David Nevergall officiating, where friends may call one hour prior to the services. Burial was made by the Billow Funeral Homes shortly after death in Markillie Cemetery, Hudson, as previously requested by the decedent. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church or to the Else Family Fund of the Akron Community Foundation. (Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel)