Obituary of LeRoy Arnold Ellis

Surrounded by family, Lee passed away peacefully in his sleep at home in Beaver Cove, Maine on April 14, 2020, following several months of failing health. He was born on July 14, 1943, son of LeRoy Albert Ellis and Ruth Hazel (Price) Ellis. Preceded in death by his parents. He leaves behind his wife Joanna Ball (Higley) Ellis, his step children Rebecca (Gott) Mallory and her husband Mark Mallory of Winterport, Maine, David Gott and his wife Kristen Leroux Gott of Nashua, New Hampshire; grandchildren: Bailey and Meghan Mallory of Winterport, Maine, Avery Gott of Charleston, South Carolina, Carly Gott of Clemson, South Carolina, Nathan and Zachary Leroux of Nashua, New Hampshire. He also leaves behind his sisters: Betty Ellis of Old Town, Maine, Nancy Koktavy of Brainerd, Minnesota, and Frances Rice of Lennox, South Dakota; nieces and nephews: Dawn Levasseur, Steve Levasseur, Rebecca Kurzejeski, Jennifer Helms, and Ross Rice; and good friends Jerry and Maryann. Lee graduated from Old Town High School in 1962 and attended the University of Maine Orono studying forestry before joining the US Navy. He served as a Machinist Mate aboard the USS Newman K. Perry DD/DDR 883 during the Vietnam War. Lee was a man of many talents. He spent time at the Moosehorn National Wildlife Sanctuary banding woodcock. Later he worked for James W. Sewall Company in Bangor, Maine, an engineering and natural resource company. He eventually left Sewall with John S. Cummings, a Maine geologist who became known for his base metal discoveries in Maine. Lee worked with Cummings for several years during which they discovered the Bald Mountain deposit west of Portage (1977), a massive copper-zinc sulfide deposit with an estimated 36 million tons of ore. Lee taught reading to adults at the Literacy Volunteers of America in Bangor for several years. Riding his Honda Goldwing, he participated in Operation Liftoff of Maine from its inception, a volunteer charity with all proceeds going directly to fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses. He worked most recently for the US Postal Service in Bangor and Hampden for 16 years, retiring in 2000 to build his home in Beaver Cove on the site of the Ellis Camps, built by his paternal grandparents in 1930. Lee enjoyed sailing, kayaking, canoeing, riding his Goldwing, his G-scale model trains and gadgets of all kinds. He was a member of the New England Region of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). He was an avid reader, movie watcher and enjoyed solving crossword puzzles in the Bangor Daily News. He will be missed by all who knew him.