Mr. Ellis worked at J. P. Stevens for 30 years in the Patterson Plant.  He loved cooking, gardening, fishing, collecting junk and raising chickens.

He was born June 29, 1934, to the late Joe Tom Ellis, Sr. and Pauline Cannon Ellis.  Also preceding him in death  was his wife, Della Cook Ellis,  and  his sisters: Lois Faison and Wautola “Tootsie” Allen;   and his brother: Wayne C. Ellis.
He is survived by his son, Joe Wayne Ellis, of Gaston; his sisters: Mabel Allen and husband Charles, of Roanoke Rapids, Dottie Ellis Underwood, of Goldsboro, and Claudie Spence, of Gaston; his nieces and nephews:  Glen Wayne Ferguson, Linda Warren, Troy Allen, Thomas Ray Cannon, Dale Spence, Tissy Tanner and Misty Spence.

The family will receive friends at Hockaday Funeral & Cremation Service on Sunday, August 29, 2010, from 7:30 to 9:00 P.M. and other times at the home of his sister, Mabel Allen, at 133 Buttercup Lane, Roanoke Rapids.

Graveside services will be held Monday, August 30, 2010, at 11:00 A. M. at Cedarwood Cemetery, conducted by Rev. Dennis Gregory.

Memorial gifts may be made to the American Heart Association, 4217 Park Place Ct, Glen Allen, VA 23060.
Online condolences may be sent to www.hockadayfs.com.