Lee was born in rural Moniteau County, Missouri. After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a BS Education in 1952, he served 2 years active duty in the U.S. Air Force, and then in the Air Force Reserves until age 60. After his active duty service, he taught high school Vocational Agriculture for 10 years and earned a Master's Degree in Education from UMC, and then spent 23 years with the Soil Conservation Service-USDA. Lee married Elaine Mae Wiecken in 1951, and celebrated nearly 59 years of marriage before her death in 2010. They lived most of their married lives in Harrisonville, MO, then in Chillicothe, MO. At his death, he was living at Addington Place of Shoal Creek, Memory Care Unit, in Kansas City, MO.
Lee will be remembered as a hardworking and conscientious husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Wherever he lived, he led his family in active involvement in a local Baptist church and lived out his Christian faith in his work and at home.
Lee will be remembered as a hardworking and conscientious husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Wherever he lived, he led his family in active involvement in a local Baptist church and lived out his Christian faith in his work and at home. He was a former member of the First Baptist Church in Harrisonville and the First Baptist Church in Chillicothe. He was a charter member of the Harrisonville Rotary Club and a member and former state president of the Soil Conservation Society of America.
Lee was preceded in death by his wife, Elaine Mae (Wiecken) Ellis; his eldest son, David Ellis; his parents, Oran & Sarah Ellis; his brothers, Clarence Ellis and Lawrence Ellis; and sisters: Martha Sartain, Bernice Brand, and Millie Chavez. He is survived by three sons: Michael (Brenda) Ellis of Kansas City, MO; Ronald Ellis of Grand Lake, CO; and Stanley (Kelley) Ellis of Weston, MO; his twin sister, Letha Mae Ellis Cobb, of Liberty, MO; four grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
