Why is Erv......

...holding a doll?

What's in the bag?

Wow, How'd You Know I Wanted...

...another soap on a rope.

Under his breath: Damn kids, no imagination.

Who called for an umpire?

This box is pretty big....

...for another soap on a rope.

Hip to be Square

If you didn't know this was from the 50's, you'd think he was doing the retro-hipster look.

Erv later grew his hair long in the 70's, proving definitively that the crew cut is the best cut.

Memorial Poem

Erv did his best to preserve normalcy in the face of encroaching death, feeling the solid here-and-now pulled away and replaced by the reality of cancer, but always asserting life over dread in response. Donald Hall's poems on baseball provide an interesting parallel to Erv's life, both because baseball was a constant in Erv's life and becasue the poem deals with cancer and loss, which is why I read the last stanza at his memorial. Here it is:

In September the Red Sox lose games in the ninth.The season ends.
Even if you win the Series, the season ends, O, and games dwindle to Florida’s Instructional League where outfielders without wheels learn to be catchers.
From Florida north will truck oranges that Jennifer squeezes in the coldlight of a low sun.
I wear my yellow sweater; we eat scrambled eggs from blue and white dishes, her hair’s kerchief is yellow.
We gather yellow days inning by inning with care to appear careless,
thinking again how Carlton Fisk ended Game Six
in the twelfth inning with a poke over the wall.

Erv's life, especially his humor and courage, gave us that kind of hope--ending the game with a home run poke over the wall. Life goes on. Those of us who knew Erv will carry a sadness from his absence. However, and more importantly, he gave us a joy and hope that we can pass down from generation to generation.

From the Everett Herald's Guest Book

Dear Peggy and Family,We are so sorry for your loss of a wonderful husband and father.We have fond memories of Erv,his athleticism on the dance floor,doing splits and dancing like a rubberband,his sense of humor especially with the morning breakfast gang at Mariner,his enthusiasum and skill with his gymnastic teams and the Athletic Department at Mariner, and especially his concern, love, pride, and support for his family. He was a good friend and a joy to know.Our prayers are for you and the newest angel in heaven,Erv Ellis.Mike and Jonette Ryan

Jonette & Mike Ryan (Everett, WA ) mike.ryan4@verizon.net

June 19, 2006
What a wonderful man, coach, and friend we found in our dearest Coach Ellis. He always had that twinkle in his eye and a great smile. I had such fun with him as my coach for years. He pushed us, but we always knew he loved us. He was great fun and he was a great support to us all, be it gymnastics, school or life issues.May you find comfort in being reassured that he was well loved and remembered by us all even after all these years. He truly was someone that came to mind often and made you smile! His quiet presence made such a difference and had such a positive impact on so many of us.May God and Coach Erv watch over you all and comfort you all...even if from afar.

Vicki Hughes-Sutton (Snohomish, WA ) suttonice@aol.com

June 18, 2006
Peg and Ellis family, sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Henry Low (Sacramento, CA )

June 18, 2006
Dear Peggy and family,We are saddened to read about Erwin's passing. Draw on the strength and love of friends and family.

Bob and Pat Ackerman (Seattle, WA ) ackermanrt@hotmail.com

June 17, 2006
Love You DadWhat can you say to someone who has always been one of the most essential parts of your world,Someone who took you by the hand when you were little and helped to show the way?What do you say to someone who stood by to help you growProviding love, strength and support, so you could become the person you are today?What can you say to let him know that he's the best there isAnd that you hope you've inherited some of his wisdom and his strength?What words would you say if you ever got the chance?Maybe you just say, I love you DadAnd hope he understands.My Father was and will always be my Hero! I miss you so much!I love you Dad.Jodi

Jodi Ellis (Issaquah, WA ) onelove_jamaica@msn.com

June 17, 2006
I am so sorry for the pain you are going through with loosing such a wonderful person. Mr. Ellis was my gymnastics coach all through Mariner High School (1979 grad). And Teddi and I were his TA for a bit. He always had a smile on his face, even if you kicked him during practice. He was a great teacher and coach, and a wonderful friend. Everyone will miss him greatly, and I pray that God will take the pain from your heart and fill it with all the wonderful memories of his life.

Cherie Lovlie (Lynnwood, WA ) cherie.lovlie@hotmail.com

June 17, 2006
Usually most of my time was spent trying to avoid seeing Mr. Ellis during the school year. But, he never forgot his students throughout all of the years; even those that needed a little more of his "guidance" than others.

Jack Raymond (Everett, WA )

June 16, 2006
You and your family are in my thoughts, prayers. Erv Ellis was a devoted teacher and coach. He always had a smile on his face and I probably gave him a few grey hairs too when I attended Mariner High School. He will be missed but never forgotten.

Kris Arnett - Class of 1974 (Mukilteo, WA ) kjarnett@msn.com

June 16, 2006
I was so sorry to read of Mr.Ellis's passing. I had him at Emerson grade school in his first year of teaching, 1961. I went to Olympic View and was thrilled to be with him again. After I got my teaching degree, I would see him at local track meets and have a chance to catch up. I always appreciated what kind of man and teacher he was and am thankful that I told him when I had the chance.

Barbara (Scussel) Miller (Snohomish, WA )

June 16, 2006
My prayers are with the family at this sad time. Mr Ellis touched so many students lives including mine in his many years of coaching/teaching . God bless you for sharing him with us all.

Becki (Bellevue, WA ) becki@eastsidepremiermd.com

Cruising in Style

Talk to the hand....

What's up with the hat?

...And please don't move your hand any lower. We just got married. Let's wait years until we have kids.


Famous last words.

A family that knew no fashion.

Post your caption

They have no idea where I hid the $$$!

Battle ends for revered coach whose passion defied cancer
By Greg BishopSeattle Times staff reporter
After three decades coaching and teaching in the Mukilteo School District, Erwin Ellis retired in 1991. He never missed a day of work, not even a practice.
And on the first day of the following school year, almost at the very minute that school started, Mr. Ellis suffered a heart attack on his morning walk. Those who knew him saw more than a coincidence.
They saw a man who lived to coach, who later battled bone cancer and still returned each spring to volunteer, who kept WesCo track statistics even in retirement.
"That's the story of his life, really," said Bill Costello, a longtime friend and track coach at Kamiak High School in Mukilteo. "He had the ability to make an absolute commitment and just will himself through."
In 2001, doctors diagnosed Mr. Ellis with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow. They told him he might live only one year — three years tops.
Coaching helped as much as chemotherapy. Mr. Ellis returned year after year, practice after practice, even getting a blood transfusion a week before each season so he could train Kamiak's sprinters and they, in turn, could help him.
The cancer worsened before this past season, the first that Mr. Ellis missed since starting in the school district in 1961. He decided to go to a hospice about a month ago, lapsed into a coma and died last Wednesday (June 14).
He was 68.
"His life's passion was coaching high-school kids," said Jeff Ellis, one of Mr. Ellis' four children.
"And he got so much out of that. It was more than coincidental that he died shortly after basically coming to the conclusion that he was no longer able to go out to the track and coach the kids anymore."
Mr. Ellis was born July 10, 1937, at Providence Hospital in Everett. He played baseball and basketball at Everett High School and graduated in 1956.
He went to college at what's now Western Washington University, where he played baseball, batting .391 in 1959 when Western went to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championships and finished third. Only Mr. Ellis couldn't hit a curveball, which ended any dreams of playing professionally.
But he could coach, and not just baseball. Mr. Ellis coached gymnastics, football, wrestling and track in the Mukilteo School District. Always track.
He worked closely with Kamiak's sprinters until cancer would not allow it anymore. The group included three-time state champion Heather Hetzer, who now plays volleyball at California State University, Long Beach.
She remembers the workouts Mr. Ellis would devise, the e-mails and support he gave her even after she went to college, the way he never let on just how sick he was.
"Before every race, he'd say, 'You go, girl,' " Hetzer said. "I can still picture him saying that. And I still laugh every time."
Mr. Ellis is also survived by his wife, Peggy, and his daughters, Jodi Ellis and Amy Swanson, both of Issaquah, and Anne Scott of Marysville. A celebration of his life and memorial service are scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Lions Hall, 802 Mukilteo Blvd., Everett.
The family is setting up a scholarship in Mr. Ellis' honor, and there are plans to have a dedication at the WesCo South track championships next year.
"I suspect that on some level he felt that fate dealt him a cruel blow," Jeff Ellis said. "What it allowed us to see was that spirit. It allowed us to see more clearly what was always there — his love for coaching and his love for kids."
After a track meet at Oak Harbor a few years back, Mr. Ellis offered to give Costello a ride home. They hopped in Mr. Ellis's pride and joy, an old Lincoln Town Car. Mr. Ellis rolled down the windows and opened the glove compartment, revealing two cigars.
He told Costello that was the way he liked to end each season — blowing smoke out the window on a long drive home. That stayed with Costello. That after thousands of volunteer hours, after the entire season, this "fantastic man would allow himself only a singular moment of satisfaction for a job well done."
"I miss him so much," said Costello, his voice cracking. "We just went through a wonderful season, with tremendous kids, and I have absolutely no complaint about anything except that I just had a hollow feeling every day when we walked out on the track. That's because Erv wasn't there."
Greg Bishop: 206-464-3191 or gbishop@seattletimes.com

Rogaine or Chia Pet?

Erv Ellis/Larry King--Separated at Birth?

Wearing the colors

A Tribute to Erwin Eugene Ellis