Roy Howard Ellis was born on April 2nd, 1930 in Roanoke, Virginia. He was the son of Leslie Byrd Ellis and Grace Creasy Ellis.
Mr. Ellis is survived by his wife, Pence; a son, Austin, and daughter-in-law, Sandra; a daughter, Anne Sweet, and son-in-law, Bradford Sweet. He is also survived by three grandchildren, Sarah Ellis Webb and her husband, Martin Webb, Christine Sweet and John Sweet. Mr. Ellis is also survived by his brother, Rodney Lee Ellis and his wife, Lois, and several nieces and nephews.
Mr. Ellis was a graduate of Virginia Tech with degrees in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, and in addition he received a commission in the United States Army as a second lieutenant. He served two years on active duty, and then many years in the Army Reserves, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
While at Virginia Tech, Mr. Ellis sang with the Glee Club and the Gobbleteers barbershop quartet. After moving to Decatur, he continued his love of singing in the church choir, and with the Huntsville chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society. He was a member of the Singing Commodores quartet and the Singing Cops quartet for Cook’s Pest Control. He also enjoyed performing in several musical productions at the Princess Theater.
Mr. Ellis was employed at NASA in Huntsville for over 30 years. After his retirement, he volunteered for the American Red Cross, taught Sunday school classes, and was a longtime volunteer at the Decatur Morgan Hospital.
The family will receive friends at Central United Methodist Church on Saturday, Nov. 12th at 11 a.m. The service will follow at noon with the Rev. Gary Formby officiating.
