He attended the former Northern Area High School, now Eisenhower High School. He had been employed as a welder, auto mechanic, carpenter, heavy duty equipment operator and worked in the oil fields. He was a member of the former Evangelical United Bretheran Church in Chandlers Valley, now Evangelical United Methodist Church.
He was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed playing baseball when younger.
He is survived by a daughter, Lora Blankenship of Monticello, Ga.; two grandchildren: Ashley and Austin Blankenship of Monticello; a brother, Edmund Perry Ellis Sr. of Chandler Valley; and a sister, Laura Marie Ellis Donner of Corona, Calif.
Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by an infant daughter, Sherrie Rebecca Ellis, who died April 28, 1972; and a sister, Lenna Belle Ellis Bobelak, who died May 12, 1996.
The funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday in the Sugar Grove Branch McKinney Funeral Home. The Rev. Paul Fields, minister of the Evangelical United Methodist Church in Chandlers Valley, will officiate. Interment will be in Chandlers Valley Cemetery, Chandlers Valley.
Friend will be received from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday in the Sugar Grove Branch, McKinney Funeral Home.