1935-2024
She had a somewhat square face, high cheekbones, deep green eyes, and waves of long hair that gave shades of deep red and black. Her skin, initially fair with freckles, glowed richly under the healing power of the beautiful climate synonymous with Vancouver. But the most distinguished feature of Eleanor Jones (nee McAllister) was her smile, the firm, confident smile that speaks of inner strength, the kind of smile that exudes beauty and gives a sense of maturity without the need to say it.
Unlike many of today’s publicity-hungry young women and beauty stars, Eleanor McAllister Jones detested notoriety, letting her character and work speak for her. Even friends could attest to this calm, self-assured demeanor, and interviews found the blend of rigidity and humility fascinating. A household name in the beauty industry and a passionate baker, the beautiful 5 ‘8 Scottish Canadian-American entrepreneur was a Honolulu cool with a Scottish backbone. She never lost her Glaswegian bite; her Scottish brogue came out when she was mad, which, according to her family, “usually meant someone messed with her cats or beauty products.
A true definition of grace with grit, Eleanor McAllister Jones was born with a heart for humanity and animals. The daughter of Scottish immigrants whose freckles drove her as a child into a relentless quest to look and stay beautiful. And beautiful, she did look right up to the moment they closed the casket on her face; those who saw her for the last time said it was like tucking her to sleep once more, her face defying old age and the frailty of death. She believed there was no such thing as an ugly woman, only the wrong moisturizers, a conviction that fired her up to build her skincare empire from scratch, starting with homemade creams she sold at farmer’s markets before launching her luxury brand in the early ’70s.
Born Eleanor Margaret McAllister, “Ellie,” to family and friends, the middle of three children on August 12, 1935, in Glasgow, Scotland, to Beatrice “Betty,” a cosmetics saleslady, and Edwin McAllister, an ordained minister whose church believed he had better prospects spreading the good news to the immigrants of the snow-capped Canadian mountains.
As a child, Ellie sometimes helped her mother deliver homemade soaps, creams, and hair shampoo to the local women at the farmers’ market, observing how the mixture of buttermilk and herbs from the meadows helped the poor girls deal with their freckles. But even more fascinating were the middle-aged women who swore the rose, honey, and aloe vera mixture cleared their wrinkles and made their faces look younger.
When she was 17, Ellie tried one of her mother’s concoctions and, realizing they helped clear her puberty-induced acne, went on an experimentation rampage mixing herbs and essential oils to discover anything that could make women younger and more beautiful. By the time she was through with high school, Elle was fully involved in her mother’s trade, selling essential oils to women and girls, much to the disappointment of her father, who preferred to have her enroll for a degree in education instead.
Not one to shelve her passion for her father’s choices and being the rebellious teenager she was, Ellie left home a few months shy of her 18th birthday on a 3,600-mile journey to Hawaii with virtually nothing more than the vague idea of venturing into the beauty business. The island was the perfect place to realize this dream. What with its natural resources, indigenous herbs and tropical climate? It perfectly mirrored the scenic Vancouver with its rich meadows and stunning waterfalls.
But starting an organic skincare business in a foreign country with no money proved elusive for young Ellie, whose first job was as a waitress cum chef cum stewardess in a local diner where she discovered her other passion for pastry baking and barbequing. She worked in the business long enough to realize that she had a unique gift: she could cook and bake just as much as she could create a perfect skin care product by mixing herbs and essential oil. So she pursued both simultaneously, feeding the local community by the day, scavenging for supplies in the forests during the weekend and at night, and creating concoctions that made women retain their natural beauty.
Yet even more beautiful things were happening in Hawaii. The island had just been signed in as the 50th state of America. She had gotten a better job at a bigger establishment, and her love life was flourishing. In 1962, she fell in love with and married hotelier Richard “Rick” Calloway, whose passion for the culinary arts nearly mirrored her own. Nearly, because for Ellie, skincare was her first love, and by the time she married Rick, she was already planning her exit from the hotel business to finally launch her organic skin care product line. Their differences became more apparent when she firmly turned down his proposal to drop the idea and join him in running the hotel. But Ellie had left home to pursue her passion, not to become a chef or hotel manager. She was not about to defer her dream for a second time. These differences, coupled with the challenges of infertility, brought their once blossoming marriage to a bitter end in 1968 when the divorce was finalized.
In 1971, she launched Ellie McAllister Skincare. With tenacity and drive, it wasn’t long before it became a luxury beauty brand known for organic anti-aging cosmetics, her signature “Scottish Glow” face oil catapulting it to success beyond the surrounding waters of Hawaii. Her love life would again flourish in 1972 when she married tour guide Arthur “Art” Jones. Flourish, I say, because the marriage produced two children and five grandchildren before it ended in 1998 after 27 years with Art signing off from complications of a car accident.
Fiercely independent, widowhood did little to slow down Ellie, who raised her children with love and grit and ran her business with such stoicism that it became a lifeline for many households in her community. She assumed the role of mentor and leader, training hundreds of women in the beauty business, many of whom went on to launch their own brands. She was a force in women’s entrepreneurship before it was trendy. Ellie was health-conscious but loved a cocktail.
Ellie took care of herself, as demonstrated in her early morning runs, afternoon swims, and obsession with clean eating, although she loved a good glass of Chardonnay. But it wasn’t just her wellness Ellie was big on. She was a fashionista with a great sense of style and an eye for color. She wore red and purple lipsticks daily, even at home, because “you never know who you’ll meet in the course of the day.” Her biggest health crisis was when she had a major hip replacement surgery at 72 after a fall (her biggest frustration was “not being able to wear heels for months”). She maintained excellent health until she turned 85 when age forced her to slow down her exercise regimes, although it didn’t stop her from moving her body.
A generous philanthropist, Ellie was big in the Honolulu charity scene where she organized beauty workshops for underprivileged women, teaching them skincare and confidence. She was on the board of a local women’s business coalition until she turned 80. She regularly attended Hawaiian cultural galas most of her 70s, but preferred dinner parties in her 80s. Her love for pets was also apparent in her regular donations to local pet rescues, especially for elderly and “unadoptable” animals. Ellie was known to sneak stray cats into her home, and one time, she had an army of five dogs and nine cats, of which she said, “They found ME, I had no choice.”
When she suddenly lost Art, Ellie resumed her earlier hobby of baking shortbread and cookies and hosted backyard barbecues every summer because, according to her, she needed something at home to distract her from her grief. Ellie was a no-nonsense woman who lived life on her own terms without losing love for people and animals.
In November 2023, two months after her 87th birthday, she was diagnosed with advanced kidney failure and pneumonia. According to the family, Ellie maintained she had lived her life fully and didn’t see the need to hang on to it. She insisted on in-home care so that she could spend the rest of her days with family and her beloved pets. By June 2024, her prognosis had gotten worse to a point the family was advised to make the necessary arrangements.
For a woman who lived a holistic lifestyle, her children arranged for a comprehensive end-of-life journey, enlisting the services of a death doula who sat by her side daily until she transitioned to the other side. On November 18, 2024, at 11am, Ellie Margarate McAllister Jones, wife, mother, grandmother, beauty powerhouse, and philanthropist, died at home, surrounded by her children, her partner, and her beloved animals. Her favorite classical music played in the background. A celebration of life was held on November 29, 2024, at the local Methodist church, followed by an interment next to her husband, Art, at the Honolulu Memorial Park Cemetery.
It marked the peaceful transition of a gracious woman whose house was always full of people, laughter, and the smell of fresh bread and steak on the grill. Her legacy is her kindness and dedication to beauty and business. She made people feel as good as they looked. She will be remembered for her contribution to the organic cosmetics industry and her dedication to the traditional beauty standards long overtaken by conventional approaches. The impact of her work will be felt more in the lives of many women and households she transformed.
Ellie McAllister Jones is immortalized by her nutritionist daughter Margaret “Maggie” Jones-Davenport (Peter Davenport) and son, architect Benjamin “Ben” Jones (Loise Nielson). She was a devoted Nana to lawyer Samantha “Sam” Davenport-Ludwick (Justin Ludwick), who inherited her grandma’s love for fashion, artist Leo Davenport (Kate Andrews), who has Ellie’s signature tattooed on his arm, structural engineer Will Davenport, who built her a custom vanity mirror with “Queen Ellie” engraved, influencer pastry chef Rachel Jones-Austin (Greg Austin) who inherited Ellie’s love for pastries and environmentalist Jack Jones in whom the true spirit of Arthur Jones remains alive.
She will be fondly missed by her great-grandchildren Henry Ludwick, Jake Austin, and Ellie Davenport. She leaves behind a small army of fur babies, Max and Bella (rescued German shepherd mixes) and cats Luna, Poppy, Oliver, and Gus, as well as her long-time partner David “Dave” Whitmore, who was 78 at the time of her passing. She was 89.
Ellie-isms
“A woman is never fully dressed without lipstick and confidence.”
“Your skin is an investment, not an expense.”
“Feed people and love animals. That’s all you need to do in life.”
“No one needs to know your age, just your skincare routine.”
“Bake, barbecue, or order takeout. Just don’t serve bland food.”
