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SANTA ANA, Calif., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today issued the following statement in response to the death of company co-founder Harold A. "Hal" Ellis.

"We were saddened to learn of Hal Ellis' passing following his courageous and prolonged battle with metastatic melanoma cancer," said Gary Hunt, interim chief executive officer. "We know he will be missed by many and share our deepest condolences with his family. For those of us here at Grubb & Ellis, there is a special appreciation for what Hal accomplished during his career."

Ellis served as Grubb & Ellis' chairman and chief executive officer until 1992. Under his leadership, Grubb & Ellis grew into one of the largest diversified real estate service companies in the United States. In addition, he served as a director of Koll Real Estate Group and is a past director of two publicly traded real estate investment trusts and a large Canadian real estate development company. Most recently, he was president of Ellis Partners LLC, a Northern California real estate development and investment company he co-founded with two partners in 1993. Ellis also served as chairman and chief executive officer of CataList Homes, Inc., a residential real estate brokerage company based in Southern California. He held the distinguished Counselor of Real Estate designation and was active in number of industry and business organizations.

"We were thrilled to have Hal participate in Grubb & Ellis' 50th anniversary celebration last year, where his warmth, humor and intelligence were on full display," said Hunt. "We honor his accomplishments and mourn his passing. His memory will be an inspiration to us all."