Robert Earl Ellis died on Dec. 4 from complications arising from a para-gliding accident in Utah.

Rob was born April 12, 1953 in Port Arthur, the son of Herbert G. (deceased) and Lawanda L. Ellis of Jacksonville, Texas. He was the eldest brother of Reed Ellis of Dallas and Russell Ellis of Rusk.

When he was three years old, his father took a job with Aramco, and the family moved to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia where Rob grew up. He returned to the United States in 1967 to attend high school at the Allen Military Academy in Bryan, Texas. After graduation in 1969, Rob joined the United States Navy where he served 25 years, retiring as a Chief Petty Officer. During his career in the Navy he served two tours in Vietnam, as well as sailing with both the Pacific and Mediterranean Fleets. The last 15 years of his navy career were as an Explosives Ordinance Disposal (EOD) technician. In this position he was responsible for the hazardous work of disarming and disposing of weapons and explosives, a job at which he excelled. He eventually became an instructor for the Navy’s EOD School in Indianhead, Maryland where he helped develop new methods and instructional material for the school.

After retirement from the Navy, Rob returned to the Jacksonville area and started his own business developing and building low-cost rocket motors for the model rocketry community. During his entire life, Rob was never still, always building or inventing new things. Up until his death he never stopped loving life at full tilt. He was an avid sailor, scuba diver, pilot, parachutist, marksman, and inventor. But no matter where his work took him, or how busy he was, he was always the bedrock of his family. He was the source of strength and consistency for his parents and brothers as well as an ideal and exceptional role model for his three nephews and his two nieces.

Rob leaves behind his mother, Lawanda L. Ellis of Jacksonville; brothers and sisters-in-law, James Russell and Dixie Ellis of Rusk, Reed and Lucy Ellis of Dallas; uncle and aunt, Billy and Pat Ellis of Nederland, aunt Virginia Richardson of Lufkin, aunt Geraldine Watson of Silsbee, aunt Faye Lane of Tyler; nephews, Erich, Stephen, and Robert Ellis, and nieces, Lara and Teisha Ellis.

Rob will be buried near his father at a Graveside service at Earle’s Chapel Cemetery on Sunday, Dec. 9, at 2 p.m. under the direction of Autry Funeral Home.

No formal visitation is scheduled.