Andrew Robert Ellis, 82, of The Villages, Florida, passed away peacefully on the evening of February 22, 2021. Andy was the eldest son of Andrew H. Ellis and Annabelle J. Troske of St. Louis, Missouri, and brother to Allan and Margaret (deceased). He lived the majority of his life in Southern California.
He is survived by his wife of 58 years Elizabeth; and his daughters Julie Westmoreland and Linda Ellis; his sons-in-law; Mike Westmoreland and Rob Gassert; and his four grandchildren Scott and Robbie Lasky, Annie and Meg Westmoreland; and his brother Allan and sister-in-law Barbara. He loved and was devoted to his family and was fiercely proud of all of them.
He retired from the chemical industry as Western Regional Sales Manager for Kronos, Inc. He also co-owned Great American Aviation in Fullerton, California, a flight school and aviation business. In his retirement, he was crew ferrying recreational-use boats along the West Coast, including making the Hawaii-Pacific crossing on Windward Passage. He served 6 years in the Army Reserve.
Andy was an adventurer- a pilot, a flight instructor, a FAA check pilot and a sailor. His love of flying was rivaled only by the sea where he had many adventures with his family, friends and business associates. He loved to scuba dive and travel; enjoying bare boat charters in the Caribbean, deep sea fishing trips, whitewater river rafting in California, shipwreck scuba diving in the Florida Keys, a dive with sharks, and even a wild rickshaw ride through the old hutongs of Beijing, China. He always enjoyed a game of golf and was an avid reader.
Andy was loved for his great sense of humor and his gift of making friends of strangers. He always found the fun in every situation and was known for his generosity and kind spirit. Andy’s life was remarkable because he loved it so. He made it something not only worth living for personally, but also loved lifting everyone else up to come along with him.
No memorial service is scheduled at this time.