Lance Ellis (1924-2002) has a legacy of more than 2,000 homes in Modesto, as well as many professional subdivisions including the shopping center at Tully Rd and Bowen Ave, "Gregory Gardens" named for his son. A native of Texas, the Ellis Family moved to Hughson, California when Lance was five. He would call Modesto home for 62 years. After being discharged from the Navy in April 1946, Lance returned home to work in his family orchards, and would marry the love of his life.
Carol Leone Lambert (1926-2015) was born in Iowa and came with her family to Southern California at the age of eight and settled in Modesto in the early 1940s. She worked at the U.S. Naval Hospital, currently the location of Modesto Junior College's West Campus. She worked with Lance's sister, Freida DeSalms, who introduced Carol to her 6'4" "Little Brother" Lance. Only a week after their engagement, Lance and Carol married in Long Beach, California on September 14, 1947. The couple returned to Modesto where Lance purchased cattle and land to farm, one particular parcel was located across Dry Creek from Old Oakdale Rd on El Vista Ave, prior to the bridge connecting the roads in the 1960s.
The couple's first venture was a small hamburger and milkshake stand on Yosemite Blvd, named "Carol's Diner", with a clientele of canary workers. One day, as Carol took orders, she noticed Lance let the food burn, she returned home and found him staring at the ceiling and he announced no more diner, he was on to bigger endeavors.
It was soon after he demolished his orchard off of El Vista and Post-War Suburbia was built in Modesto. Ellis built some forty small affordable homes on two streets, named "Carol St." and "Lambert St." after his wife. These modest homes sold for $9,500. It was on Carol St near Colfax Ave, where Lance and Carol initially raised their three children, Renee Suzanne, Gregory Lance, and Joni Faye. All of the children's first and middle names appear as the names of suburban streets in different areas of Modesto. Ada St., South of Carol and Lambert was named for his wife's Grandmother. "Lance" and "Ellis" Streets appear on the LaLoma side of El Vista. Lance Ellis only built a few of the homes in that subdivision, though the streets bear his name.
Lance Ellis ran "Gregory Development" and "Lance Ellis Real Estate." He constructed most of the subdivisions in the Tully Rd and Carver Rd area as well as several mobile-home park and the "Frontier Town" Shopping Center on the corner of Tully Rd. and Standiford Ave. Lance Ellis left a permanent mark on the shaping of Modesto, and it all began with a lasting legacy to the woman he would love for 54 years until his death in 2002. Carol Lambert Ellis joined her husband 13 years later in 2015.
Article by David Seymour and Keith Highiet for McHenry Museum & Historical Society February 2021
Carol Leone Lambert (1926-2015) was born in Iowa and came with her family to Southern California at the age of eight and settled in Modesto in the early 1940s. She worked at the U.S. Naval Hospital, currently the location of Modesto Junior College's West Campus. She worked with Lance's sister, Freida DeSalms, who introduced Carol to her 6'4" "Little Brother" Lance. Only a week after their engagement, Lance and Carol married in Long Beach, California on September 14, 1947. The couple returned to Modesto where Lance purchased cattle and land to farm, one particular parcel was located across Dry Creek from Old Oakdale Rd on El Vista Ave, prior to the bridge connecting the roads in the 1960s.
The couple's first venture was a small hamburger and milkshake stand on Yosemite Blvd, named "Carol's Diner", with a clientele of canary workers. One day, as Carol took orders, she noticed Lance let the food burn, she returned home and found him staring at the ceiling and he announced no more diner, he was on to bigger endeavors.
It was soon after he demolished his orchard off of El Vista and Post-War Suburbia was built in Modesto. Ellis built some forty small affordable homes on two streets, named "Carol St." and "Lambert St." after his wife. These modest homes sold for $9,500. It was on Carol St near Colfax Ave, where Lance and Carol initially raised their three children, Renee Suzanne, Gregory Lance, and Joni Faye. All of the children's first and middle names appear as the names of suburban streets in different areas of Modesto. Ada St., South of Carol and Lambert was named for his wife's Grandmother. "Lance" and "Ellis" Streets appear on the LaLoma side of El Vista. Lance Ellis only built a few of the homes in that subdivision, though the streets bear his name.
Lance Ellis ran "Gregory Development" and "Lance Ellis Real Estate." He constructed most of the subdivisions in the Tully Rd and Carver Rd area as well as several mobile-home park and the "Frontier Town" Shopping Center on the corner of Tully Rd. and Standiford Ave. Lance Ellis left a permanent mark on the shaping of Modesto, and it all began with a lasting legacy to the woman he would love for 54 years until his death in 2002. Carol Lambert Ellis joined her husband 13 years later in 2015.
Article by David Seymour and Keith Highiet for McHenry Museum & Historical Society February 2021
Lance Ellis (1924-2002) has a legacy of more than 2,000 homes in Modesto, as well as many professional subdivisions including the shopping center at Tully Rd and Bowen Ave, "Gregory Gardens" named for his son. A native of Texas, the Ellis Family moved to Hughson, California when Lance was five. He would call Modesto home for 62 years. After being discharged from the Navy in April 1946, Lance returned home to work in his family orchards, and would marry the love of his life.
Carol Leone Lambert (1926-2015) was born in Iowa and came with her family to Southern California at the age of eight and settled in Modesto in the early 1940s. She worked at the U.S. Naval Hospital, currently the location of Modesto Junior College's West Campus. She worked with Lance's sister, Freida DeSalms, who introduced Carol to her 6'4" "Little Brother" Lance. Only a week after their engagement, Lance and Carol married in Long Beach, California on September 14, 1947. The couple returned to Modesto where Lance purchased cattle and land to farm, one particular parcel was located across Dry Creek from Old Oakdale Rd on El Vista Ave, prior to the bridge connecting the roads in the 1960s.
The couple's first venture was a small hamburger and milkshake stand on Yosemite Blvd, named "Carol's Diner", with a clientele of canary workers. One day, as Carol took orders, she noticed Lance let the food burn, she returned home and found him staring at the ceiling and he announced no more diner, he was on to bigger endeavors.
It was soon after he demolished his orchard off of El Vista and Post-War Suburbia was built in Modesto. Ellis built some forty small affordable homes on two streets, named "Carol St." and "Lambert St." after his wife. These modest homes sold for $9,500. It was on Carol St near Colfax Ave, where Lance and Carol initially raised their three children, Renee Suzanne, Gregory Lance, and Joni Faye. All of the children's first and middle names appear as the names of suburban streets in different areas of Modesto. Ada St., South of Carol and Lambert was named for his wife's Grandmother. "Lance" and "Ellis" Streets appear on the LaLoma side of El Vista. Lance Ellis only built a few of the homes in that subdivision, though the streets bear his name.
Lance Ellis ran "Gregory Development" and "Lance Ellis Real Estate." He constructed most of the subdivisions in the Tully Rd and Carver Rd area as well as several mobile-home park and the "Frontier Town" Shopping Center on the corner of Tully Rd. and Standiford Ave. Lance Ellis left a permanent mark on the shaping of Modesto, and it all began with a lasting legacy to the woman he would love for 54 years until his death in 2002. Carol Lambert Ellis joined her husband 13 years later in 2015.
Article by David Seymour and Keith Highiet for McHenry Museum & Historical Society February 2021
Carol Leone Lambert (1926-2015) was born in Iowa and came with her family to Southern California at the age of eight and settled in Modesto in the early 1940s. She worked at the U.S. Naval Hospital, currently the location of Modesto Junior College's West Campus. She worked with Lance's sister, Freida DeSalms, who introduced Carol to her 6'4" "Little Brother" Lance. Only a week after their engagement, Lance and Carol married in Long Beach, California on September 14, 1947. The couple returned to Modesto where Lance purchased cattle and land to farm, one particular parcel was located across Dry Creek from Old Oakdale Rd on El Vista Ave, prior to the bridge connecting the roads in the 1960s.
The couple's first venture was a small hamburger and milkshake stand on Yosemite Blvd, named "Carol's Diner", with a clientele of canary workers. One day, as Carol took orders, she noticed Lance let the food burn, she returned home and found him staring at the ceiling and he announced no more diner, he was on to bigger endeavors.
It was soon after he demolished his orchard off of El Vista and Post-War Suburbia was built in Modesto. Ellis built some forty small affordable homes on two streets, named "Carol St." and "Lambert St." after his wife. These modest homes sold for $9,500. It was on Carol St near Colfax Ave, where Lance and Carol initially raised their three children, Renee Suzanne, Gregory Lance, and Joni Faye. All of the children's first and middle names appear as the names of suburban streets in different areas of Modesto. Ada St., South of Carol and Lambert was named for his wife's Grandmother. "Lance" and "Ellis" Streets appear on the LaLoma side of El Vista. Lance Ellis only built a few of the homes in that subdivision, though the streets bear his name.
Lance Ellis ran "Gregory Development" and "Lance Ellis Real Estate." He constructed most of the subdivisions in the Tully Rd and Carver Rd area as well as several mobile-home park and the "Frontier Town" Shopping Center on the corner of Tully Rd. and Standiford Ave. Lance Ellis left a permanent mark on the shaping of Modesto, and it all began with a lasting legacy to the woman he would love for 54 years until his death in 2002. Carol Lambert Ellis joined her husband 13 years later in 2015.
Article by David Seymour and Keith Highiet for McHenry Museum & Historical Society February 2021
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