Wow. It has been a hard start to the year for us here. On February 1, 2009, we lost my precious Grandaddy, Dr. Bob Ellis. He had fallen in November and been in the hospital ever since. His 87 yr. old body just could not fight all the complications and we all believe that he was ready to go home to be with his Lord and the love of his life, my Mema. We were so blessed to have had him here with us for so long. He was an incredible man who lived an incredible life. He grew up in the Great Depression, went off with his father to Oklahoma and lived under a different name for several years before being returned to his mother in Memphis, fought in WWII, graduated from Ole Miss and became Registrar there during some of the most difficult days at Ole Miss, then went on to get his PhD in education from Florida State and became a professor at Ole Miss. I learned that upon his retirement he had the longest tenure of any professor. I believe that says something about him. Grandaddy was very involved in his church and literacy in Lafayette County. He was also an avid swimmer and swam up until he fell in Nov. He was also a big supporter of Ole Miss sports and attended all football games and baseball games. The baseball team will miss one of their best fans this season!
He has passed on to me the importance of education and doing what you love. He always supported my efforts and was also so proud of Grant for going back to PT school. He loved all of his 9 grandkids and was so good to us as well as his great grandkids. I am so glad that he got to meet Ellie, who's real name is Ellis after him, and Maggie. The women at the Methodist Church told my mom that they all referred to my Grandfather as "The Gentleman". He was that. The pastor referred to him as the "humble giant". He was that, too. He was my Grandaddy and he left a legacy for us that I hope to pass down. His life is one to be admired and celebrated. I only hope that I can make him proud and be half the person he was. We will all dearly miss him, but are also filled with joy over having him be a part of our lives.
The pictures are from this past Thanksgiving when we went to see him. What a blessing that trip was as he fell that Sun and this was the last time we got to see him. The one of him and Ellie was of him helping her put her boots on. It was so sweet.
II Timothy 4:7 says, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith". Grandaddy did.
