Charles Lee Ellis

Chuck, as most knew him, was a lifetime resident of Spokane. Growing up, Chuck and his brothers worked for their dad, Charles Ellis Sr., in his construction business, building homes in the Spokane area. Here he earned the nickname “Clark” because his brothers would load his arms with as much lumber as he could carry and deliver it to different parts of the jobsite, like a Clark forklift

He graduated from Central Valley High School in 1981 where he was a football star. He was the hard-hitting varsity fullback his junior and senior years. Chuck (or should we say Clark) set the school deadlift record at 558 lbs. in 1980, he was the first person in school history to earn the Hitter’s Award, an award for those who hit opposing players so hard, the people they hit had to leave the game. Chuck maintained his hard head throughout the rest of his life. Chuck also enjoyed riding dirt bikes and fixing up muscle cars that he acquired for basically nothing.

Chuck met his wife Jill Webb while she was working at the iconic Ron’s Drive Inn in Spokane Valley. While working the drive through when Chuck pulled in and asked her if she liked her job, Jill replied “no”. He then asked if she would leave right then and there and come with him… and she did. In 1984, Chuck and Jill were married and started their family. Matthew (Matt) Ellis was born in October 1984 and Anthony (Tony) Ellis was born in September 1987. They were married for 41 years.

The early 1990’s came, and Chuck became an entrepreneur. With his wife and sons, Chuck started a private label barbecue sauce company, Flavor Quest. Chuck and his dad converted his parents’ garage in Greenacres into a clean kitchen for manufacturing their product. He worked very hard to get his barbecue sauce into Spokane grocery stores. Stocking shelves, selling his product to store managers, doing sample stands to promote his product took all of Chuck’s time, but it was working. His business was starting to take off, but it came at a price. He was unable to spend as much time with his family as he wanted to. The next step in building his brand was to take it out of town. So, Chuck met the fork in the road and chose to hang up his apron, close his business and work a job with consistent hours to spend more quality time with his family. He spent many years taking his family camping, shooting, dirt bike riding, boating, and of course, teaching them how to work hard. When his boys started playing sports, he never missed a game. If his boys were playing, he was there. He was always there for them.

After marriage Chuck worked at Baker Commodities. He got his dad a job there as a field mechanic and they worked together for many years. Chuck said some of the best times of his life were when he was working with his dad. After Baker, Chuck worked at various machine shops around Spokane. On July 4th, 1993, Chuck and his family were able to move to Chuck’s final home in Newman Lake. A bare plot of land with nothing but weeds. Chuck and his family poured endless hours of sweat equity into this property to transform it into the beautiful oasis it is today.

In 1997, Chuck graduated with honors and a 4.0 GPA from Spokane Community College where he earned his associates degree in Machining. We were so proud of him for this accomplishment. However, he quickly learned that the degree did not help him advance in his career as a machinist as employers wanted to see years of experience in specific machine trades. So in the early 2000’s, Chuck enlisted the help of a temp agency, which found him a job as a mechanic at Bay Shore Systems, a foundation drill manufacturing company in Rathdrum, ID.

Chuck had an eye for detail and one of the strongest work ethics a person could have. He was quickly hired as a permanent employee at Bay Shore and worked across all departments on the production floor as needed (Assembly, Field Service, Machine Shop, Paint). Chuck retired from the workforce in 2010.

After he retired, Chuck, his dad, and his two sons restored a 1940 Chevy Special Deluxe together in their home shop. This was a frame-off restoration and a labor of love where the 4 of them would get together one day a week and spend time together rebuilding the car for Charles Ellis Sr.

When he wasn’t spending time in the shop, Chuck was thinking about his family. He spent long hours working on his property and cultivating a fruit orchard, berry garden and vegetable garden. The last few years, Chuck had gotten into food preservation. Freeze drying quickly became a new hobby . When he did something, he did it all the way. He ended up with a huge surplus of food that he spent hours freeze-drying in his home-made kitchen.

Chuck had a love for dogs. His family sometimes said Chuck preferred the company of dogs to that of people. He always said that dogs offered people unconditional love. Chuck had dogs from childhood to the end when they surrounded him during his final hours.

Throughout 2023, Chuck’s dad became very ill and moved in with Chuck and Jill in their Newman Lake home. They cared for Chuck’s dad where they were all surrounded by family. Charles Sr. passed away just days after his 90th birthday in February of 2024. This was very hard on Chuck as his dad was one of his best friends.

Chuck was diagnosed with bladder cancer in February 2025. He held his own for many months and we didn’t see much change in him until a few weeks leading to his death where he lost significant weight. Chuck did not have high chances of survival and refused to look to chemotherapy as a solution. Despite many attempts by his family to have him consider treatment, chuck wanted to spend his last time at his home with his family.

For those that knew Chuck, outspoken is a mild term to use when describing his personality. While he could be abrasive, he was not often wrong about things. He felt the burden of needing to be the voice of reason in a world when most people don’t want to hear it. He held his principles and morals very close and wouldn’t let others walk on them. He also had a great sense of humor with a loud, goofy laugh and an incredible smile.

Chuck had a great mind and was very meticulous when he decided to do something. He rarely encountered a problem he could not solve with his creative thinking, hard work, perseverance and research. He was notorious for doing his research before starting anything and making lists of all the steps to do.

Chuck was our family’s rock and anchor, our voice of reason in times of confusion and darkness. There is nothing he wouldn’t sacrifice to provide for and protect his family. He left us far too soon, but he did have faith that he would be with God and his family in his afterlife, and we would all see each other again.

Chuck is preceded in death by his older brother, Daniel (Danny) Ellis; his mother Bette Louise Ellis (Sexsmith) and his father Charles Orda Ellis. He is survived by his wife, Jill Ellis (Webb), his two sons Matthew (Matt) Ellis and Anthony (Tony) Ellis as well as his four grandchildren.

Chuck did not want a funeral, and we are honoring his wish but will hold a small celebration of his life for his closest family and friends at a date to be announced.

If you are able, please join us for a celebration of Chuck's life on Saturday, September 13 , 2-5 PM at Liberty Lake Orchard Park, S. Pavillion. If you have anything you would like to share about Chuck, we would love for you to share! This will be a casual and informal gathering because that is how Chuck would have wanted it.

Cremation services are being provided by Thornhill Funeral home in Spokane Valley, WA.