Ernest Sells passed peacefully and without pain on Monday, March 1, 2021, with his daughter by his side. Ernest (Ernie) Denver Sells, age 93, was born on Jan. 24, 1928, in Sherwood, Tennessee, to Johnnie and Angeline (Smith) Sells. Ernest attended school in Sherwood, Cowan, Sewanee, and Winchester, Tennessee. Ernest joined the U.S. Army at 17 years old and went to basic training at Fort McClellen, Alabama. He served in the Pacific Theater during WWII as a sniper, earning sharpshooter and expert marksman awards. He returned to Tennessee after the war and married Lila Cook in Rossville, Georgia, on Dec. 4, 1948. Ernie drove a school bus for his brother and owned a service station in Winchester, Tennessee, before moving his family permanently to Troy, Montana, in 1958. He went to work for J. Neils Lumber Co. and started for the U.S. Forest Service in 1959. He spent 30 years serving as trail boss, crew boss, fire boss, defensive driving trainer, fire spotter, tree planter, and finally road designer and timber sale planner for U.S.F.S. Zone III Engineering. Ernie’s service on the Troy Volunteer Ambulance as an EMT spanned three decades. He was a lifetime member of the NRA and was an avid hunter with several trophies on display at Steins Market in Troy. Ernie was also a life member of Troy’s John E Freeman VFW Post #5514. He was a high five bowler on leagues at Trojan Lanes for several decades. He was a member of the Assembly of God Church in Troy for many years. He loved music, gardening, flowers, birds, fishing, hunting, hiking, mushroom and berry picking, firewood gathering, and just about everything else that has to be done in his beloved Montana mountains. He enjoyed traveling, telling his stories, and writing songs. He was preceded in death by parents, Johnnie and Angeline Sells; his brothers, John, Buddy, Elbert, and James Sells; sisters, Ruth Wallace, Annie Pauline, and Beulah Short; his wife Lila; and his daughter, Carolyn Stanley. He is survived by daughter and son-in-law, Carene and Mark Cratty of Troy; granddaughters, Danelle Stanley of California, and Dana Stanley of Tennessee; great-grandchildren, J.T. Klod of California, Katie Stowe of California, and Tyler Stanley of Tennessee; a brother, George Hoyett Sells of Indiana; a sister, Polly Ann Strope of Tennessee; and numerous nieces, nephews, adopted grandchildren and many dear friends. He never met a stranger. Visitation was held on Friday, March 5, 2021, from 3-5 p.m. at Schnackenberg Funeral Home in Libby, Montana. Services were conducted on Saturday, March 6, 2021, at 11 a.m. at Troy Assembly of God Church with Pastor Terry Meroney officiating. Graveside services were held at Troy Cemetery with military honors bestowed, and a luncheon held at the Assembly of God immediately following. A memorial service will be held at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, March 23, 2021 at Moore-Cortner Funeral Home. Dinner will be served immediately following in the Moore-Cortner Life Celebration Reception Hall. Arrangements are by Schnackenberg Funeral Home in Libby, Montana and Moore-Cortner Funeral Home in Winchester, Tennessee.
