Exhibit 5.1


                                [Smucker Logo]

Securities and Exchange Commission
450 Fifth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20549

Ladies and Gentlemen:

         I am Vice President-- Finance and Administration, Secretary, and
General Counsel of The J. M. Smucker Company, an Ohio corporation (the
"Company").

         This opinion is being furnished in connection with the Registration
Statement on Form S-4, as amended (Registration No. 333-73830) (the
"Registration Statement"), filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the "Commission") on November 21, 2001, pursuant to the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act").

         The Registration Statement relates to the proposed issuance by the
Company of up to 49,370,000 Company common shares, without par value (the
"Shares"), pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of October 9,
2001, as amended by Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated
as of November 30, 2001 (as amended, the "Merger Agreement"), by and among the
Company, The Procter & Gamble Company, an Ohio corporation ("P&G"), and The
Procter & Gamble Ohio Brands Company, an Ohio corporation and wholly owned
subsidiary of P&G ("P&G Ohio").

         The Merger Agreement provides for the merger (the "Merger") of P&G Ohio
with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving
corporation. The Registration Statement includes a proxy statement-prospectus
(the "Proxy Statement-Prospectus") to be furnished to the shareholders of the
Company in connection with their approval of the Merger.

         This opinion is being furnished in accordance with the requirements of
Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act. Capitalized terms
used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them
in the Merger Agreement attached as Annex A to the Registration Statement.

         In connection with rendering this opinion, I have examined and am
familiar with the originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to my
satisfaction, of the following documents: (i) the Registration Statement
(including the Proxy Statement-Prospectus); (ii) the Amended Articles of
Incorporation of the Company, as amended to the date hereof and as will be
amended as of the effective date of the Merger; (iii) the Regulations of the
Company, as amended to the date hereof; (iv) the Merger Agreement; (v)
resolutions of the Board of Directors of the Company relating to the
transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement and the




Registration Statement; (vi) specimen certificates of the Shares; and (vii) such
other certificates, instruments, and documents as I considered necessary or
appropriate for the purpose of this opinion.

         In my examination, I have assumed the genuineness of all signatures,
the legal capacity of natural persons, the authenticity of all documents
submitted to me as originals, the conformity to original documents of all
documents submitted to me as certified, conformed, or photostatic copies, and
the authenticity of the originals of such copies. In making my examination of
documents executed by parties other than the Company, I have assumed that such
parties had the power, corporate or otherwise, to enter into and perform all
obligations thereunder. I also have assumed the due authorization by all
requisite action, corporate or otherwise, and the execution and delivery by such
parties of such documents and the validity and binding effect thereof on such
parties. As to any facts material to the opinion expressed herein which I have
not independently established or verified, I have relied upon statements and
representations of officers and other representatives of the Company and others.

         For purposes of this opinion, I have assumed that prior to the issuance
of any of the Shares: (i) the Registration Statement, as finally amended, will
have become effective under the Securities Act; (ii) the Company's shareholders
shall have approved the Merger at the Company's special meeting called for such
approval; (iii) the Company's board of directors shall not have changed its
recommendation that the Company's shareholders vote for the Merger; (iv) a
Certificate of Merger will have been duly filed with the Secretary of State of
the State of Ohio; (v) the certificates representing the Shares will have been
duly executed by an authorized officer of the transfer agent for the Shares,
will have been registered by the registrar for the Shares, and will conform to
the specimen thereof examined by me, and (vi) the Shares to be transferred by
book entry will have been appropriately and effectively so transferred.

         I am admitted to the Bar of the State of Ohio, and I do not express any
opinion as to the law of any jurisdiction except for the laws of the State of
Ohio, including all statutory provisions of Chapter 1701 of the Ohio Revised
Code (often referred to as the Ohio General Corporation Law), the Ohio
Constitution as it relates to this opinion, and all judicial decisions
interpreting the foregoing.

         Based upon and subject to the foregoing, I am of the opinion that the
Shares, when issued in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Merger
Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid, and non-assessable.

         I hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the
Registration Statement and to the references to my name under the caption "Legal
Matters" in the Proxy Statement-Prospectus forming a part of the Registration
Statement. In giving this consent, however, I do not thereby admit that I am
within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the
Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

                                           Very truly yours,

                                           /s/ Steven J. Ellcessor
                                           Steven J. Ellcessor, Esq.