Edward Ronald Ellison

Edward R. Ellison (1935-2022), loving husband, dad, coach and mentor, passed on to heaven’s green fields on the afternoon of March 18, 2022. His demise was not unexpected. Edward’s wife of forty-two years, Barbara Jean Ellison, awaits him in the light.

He is survived by the four men he raised: Geoff (Cullman, AL), John (Los Angeles, CA), Mike (Cary, NC) and Douglas (La Plata, MD); their wives, respectively, Jane, Lily, Lisa and Laura. He is also survived by beloved grandchildren: Russell, Julie, Kristen, Paige, Matthew, Jordan, Hannalee, Mary and Brendan, and a treasured great-granddaughter, Sunny.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Edward and his two older brothers grew up in Mt. Clemens, where he could walk out the door with a shotgun in pursuit of pheasant and rabbits. In his youth he was an accomplished ballist, excelling behind the plate at both baseball and fast-pitch softball.

Edward attended the University of Michigan before joining the United States Army. He was honorably discharged from the army reserve with the rank of Major. He married Barbara Jean Wright on January 18, 1958. While raising his boys, he went to school at night and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

He spent most of his professional life in the lumber business. Edward and Barbara eventually relocated to Decatur, AL to enjoy a gradual retirement. After Barbara passed in 2000, Edward stayed active, joining up with the Redneck Cowboys, a renegade band of pistoleros and riflemen, as well as the Silver Sneakers and the American Skeptics Society.

Edward Ellison was a good man. He will be missed.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Wreaths Across America (https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/).