Bruce LeRoy Ellis Sr.

He was born to Bob and Betty Ellis in Ogden, Kansas on October 2, 1933, the third of five siblings. Bruce graduated from Lincoln High School in Des Moines. He was married to Judy M. Ellis for 57 years until her passing in 2012. They are survived by three children Bruce (Kim) Ellis, Maria (Jorg) Will, and Lisa Ellis Brown – all living in the greater KC area.

Bruce enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1951, and left Iowa to receive recruit training in San Diego, California. In January 1953, he joined the 1st Marine Division for a tour of duty in Korea. After returning to the US for an assignment in Iowa, he was reassigned to Parris Island, South Carolina, where he served as a Drill Instructor. In 1966, he once again received an assignment overseas and was transferred for a combat tour in Vietnam. He was eventually transferred to Kansas City to finish out his military career and retired as a Captain in 1971, having served for 20 years.

Following his career in the Marines, Bruce was heavily engaged with the labor unions in Kansas City. Starting off with Heavy Construction Laborers Local 663 and eventually becoming an influential representative of labor unions in local and state politics and in the Kansas City community. He eventually became the Director of the Missouri Division of Labor Standards, where he worked under Governor Joe Teasdale. Bruce continued working on behalf of the labor unions for the rest of his career, first as a Labor Liaison with the United Way and later with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City, where he retired after several years as a labor representative.

One of his passions was playing golf, which he enjoyed for many years, playing into his 70’s until macular degeneration made it impossible for him to see the ball or his target. Before he was forced into a retirement from golf, he played hundreds of rounds in tournaments, with family, friends, and in a men’s league at Country Creek Golf Course in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, where he managed to make two hole-in-one’s over the years.

He also loved to play cards, especially Texas Hold ‘Em, and enjoyed playing in fundraisers over the years with friends and family. In later years, as his eyesight failed, he was determined to continue playing poker by using a light-up magnifying glass, routinely playing on Tuesday at the Lee’s Summit VFW and Wednesday nights at Westside Grill and Bar, also in Lee’s Summit.

He also had a long-running tradition of taking family to the Westside on Thursday nights for their “Steak Nights.” This tradition remained intact after his eventual move to John Knox Village – where he would invite family to eat steak and drink wine (always his treat) at one of their restaurants.

Throughout his career and into retirement, Bruce loved to stay connected with family and coworkers, always looking forward to attending various events and constantly checking up on people via phone calls. He was never interested in talking about himself, but wanted to know what you were up to, and know that you were doing well. He also loved taking family vacations to the beach – his favorite destination being Destin, Florida.

Bruce loved spending time with his eight grandchildren Bob, Lauren (Sean), Natalie (Andrew), Andrew, Alex, Kate, Sydney (Ryan) and Jake.

In addition to those mentioned above, Bruce is survived by his sisters, Barbara & Beth, and brothers, Bob and Billy and their families, six great-grandchildren, Lila, Brady, Crosby, Landry, Liam, and Rowan, and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, please send contributions in honor of Judy Ellis to ALS Association, Keith Worthington Chapter, 6950 Squibb Rd., Prairie Village, KS 66202; or to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation (AMDF) via the following link: https://www.macular.org/how-donate.

We regret that due to COVID, we will be having a private ceremony for family members only. For those who would like to attend the graveside service, it will begin at 3:00 pm Saturday, October 31, 2020 with Military Honors. You may meet us in the parking lot around 2:45 pm and follow us out to the burial site. The private funeral service will be live streamed starting at 2:00 pm on Saturday, October 31, 2020. Then there will be a delay on the live streaming until the start of the graveside service at 3:00 pm. The livestreaming can be obtained by going to mt.moriah.net then click on recent obituaries. Then select Mr. Ellis obituary and click on services and then join livestream. It will be blank until the start of services. We will be having a celebration of Bruce’s life sometime during the summer of 2021. Once determined, the details will be posted on social media and Bruce’s obituary on the Mt Moriah website.