Donald A. Ellingsen, M.D. and Leilani A. Ellingsen WWAMI Spokane – Paul G. Ramsey, M.D. Endowed Scholarship
Please address your letter to:
Dr. and Mrs. Ellingsen
Dr. Donald and Mrs. Leilani Ellingsen created this scholarship to benefit medical students from Spokane, WA, where the Ellingsens have long and deep roots.
Dr. Ellingsen received his undergraduate degree from Washington State University, where he was awarded the President’s Medal as the number-one male graduate in the Class of 1959. He was later inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame for his achievements in track and field, and football. Don attended medical school at the University of Washington, where he graduated as an Alpha Omega Alpha member in the Class of 1963.
After completing his residency in ophthalmology at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Ellingsen went east for a fellowship in retinal surgery at New York Hospital, Cornell. He served in the National Guard in California and Washington from 1963 to 1971.
Upon the completion of his training, Dr. Ellingsen returned to his hometown, Spokane, where he practiced ophthalmology and ophthalmological surgery until retiring in 1998. Don and Lani raised four children, all of whom went into professional practice: Don (orthopedic surgery); Rick (orthodontics); Mark (law); and Lisa (endodontics). Don and Lani are proud grandparents of ten grandchildren. Much of their extended family lives in Spokane, including Don’s brothers Bruce (M.D. ’65) and Jim (D.D.S. ’61). The Ellingsen family maintains strong ties to WSU, and Don remains lifelong friends with several other Cougars who were part of the UW Medicine Class of 1963.