Hazel Ellis

Waynesville- Hazel Bowen Ellis, 86, died Sunday, October 21, at Haywood Regional Medical Center after a brief illness. A longtime resident of Waynesville, Mrs. Ellis was devoted to the First United Methodist Church of Waynesville, where she taught Sunday-School and served as a youth counselor. She served as president of the United Methodist Women. She was active in community and social groups, including Beta Sigma Phi sorority and the Mountain View Garden Club. She also led the garden club in Blackwood, N.J., while living there from 1973 to 1985. She belonged to several bridge clubs and delivered Meals on Wheels. She was born April 1, 1921 in Pender County, NC. Her parents died while she was a teenager, and she was raised by her older sisters. In 1942 she graduated from East Carolina Teachers College, now known as East Carolina University and taught school for two years in Greene County, NC. She later worked for Atlantic Coastline Railroad in Wilmington, NC, where she met her husband, Ray Ellis. She was the daughter of Robert Nixon Bowen and Lucy Lillian Rivenbark Bowen. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her husband of 49 years, Raymond Cato Ellis, who died in 1996; son Paul Lynn Ellis, who died as an infant in 1955; brother Robert Thomas Bowen; and sisters Louis B. Ward, Sally B. Phelps, Mary B. Horne, Ruth B. Fussell, Pearl B. Thomas, Gladys L. Bowen, Edna M. Bowen and Ruby I. Bowen. Surviving are her children, Stephen Gary Ellis of Waynesville and his wife, Catherine N. Ellis; Ralph V. Ellis of Decatur, GA.; and Sandra Lynn Ellis of Portland, OR and her husband, Stanley Steven Kulick. Mrs. Ellis has seven grandchildren, Andrew Stephen Ellis and Michael Morgan Ellis, both of Waynesville; Robert Newman Ellis of Hartsville, SC; David Newman Ellis and Julia Newman Ellis, both of Gainesville, FL; and Nicole and Annalisa Kulick, both of Portland. She also is survived by six nephews and one cousin, Wilma Fussell of Raleigh, NC. The family wishes to acknowledge and honor Mrs. Ellis's devoted caregivers, Vicki Raby, Mary Sue Rathbone and Linda Stamey; her neighbor, Meg Woodward; and special family friends, Judy LaFontaine and Donald Nesbitt. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 27, 2007 at First United Methodist Church of Waynesville with Reverend Dr. W. Lyn Sorrells, Reverend Kathleen M. Wilson, and Reverend Horwood P. Myers officiating. Burial will follow at Garrett-Hillcrest Memorial Park. Honorary pallbearers will be the Asbury Sunday-School Class. The family will receive friends from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. on Friday at Wells Funeral Home of Waynesville. Memorials can be made to the Building Fund of First United Methodist Church, Waynesville, P.O. Box 838, Waynesville, NC 28786 or the American Cancer Society, 90 Stiles Road, Canton, NC 28716.

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