Ellen Davis Esteva's Obituary
Ellen Davis Esteva, 98, of Gulfport, FL passed away June 22, 2024. Born in Butler, PA; Ellen attended Winchester-Thurston, a private girl's school in Pittsburgh. She came to St. Petersburg in 1936 where she attended and graduated from St. Paul High School in 1943. She then went on to graduate from St. Petersburg Junior College and followed that with Stetson University in Deland, FL where she graduated 1946 with a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in French. She also attended night school studying various financial classes at St. Petersburg Junior College and attended several sessions at Florida Presbyterian College in taxation, wills, trucks, stock, and bonds.
In 1951, Ellen married attorney and city judge, Henry Esteva who organized several banks in the St. Petersburg area. The last bank was United Bank which eventually became Synovus.
Ellen's greatest interest was in the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. She helped raised the money to build it and served in the first class of Docents in 1964. She later served on most committees, Board of Trustees, and the Executive Committee for many years.
As a docent, Ellen studied the Oriental Collection and did 10 months of research for the Poynter Gallery touching on religion, philosophy, and art. She also instructed a TV presentation course which included writing scripts, filming people and shows in the area, making short films that could be used in the local schools. She personally wrote, directed, and narrated a film about the Oriental Gallery. Ellen has also been a member of the Stuart Society since it's inception.
Ellen was preceded in death by her loving husband, Henry, almost 30 years ago. Survivors include her nephews, Keith Leibfried of Lake City, FL and Kris Millrose of Tampa, FL, and cousin, Colleen Hoffman of Pennsylvania.
A private placement will take place on a later date at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens, St. Petersburg.
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