Ann Thompson Ellis' Obituary
Ann Thompson Ellis, age 81, died peacefully at home on October 22, 2021 surrounded by her loving children after an eight month battle with leukemia. She was born in Memphis on July 17, 1940, the oldest daughter of Evelyn and Reuben Walter Thompson.
Ann attended East High School and later Bolivar High School, where she met and married Lee Porter Butler, with whom she had four children. Later in life, she would marry her best friend, William Ronald Ellis, Jr., with whom she enjoyed over 38 years of a loving marriage.
Ann’s proficiency with numbers and organization was evident during her career as a bookkeeper, and later as a manager at the Shelby County Tax Assessor’s Office, from which she retired after 25 years of service. Though often praised for her professionalism in the business world, Ann considered her greatest accomplishment that of being a mother and grandmother. Nothing brought her more joy. In addition to raising three children while working full time, Ann also provided loving home care for her mother and mother in law. Friends, neighbors and the medical community will remember Ann for her generous gifts of home baked goodies; a labor of love she always said. Her door was always open as was her phone line for any one in need.
In addition to her parents, she is predeceased by her husband, William Ronald “Ronnie” Ellis, and her infant daughter, Jennifer Lynn Butler. She is survived by her brother, Reuben Walter Thompson, Jr. (Trisha) , and sister Lynn Louise Thompson, as well as children Linda Butler Benton (Oliver ), Natalie Butler Vesey (Alan) and Christopher Thompson Ellis (Diane) and grandchildren. Oliver Benton IV (Abi), Forrest Elliott Benton, Jessica Ellis Butler (Andrew), Joseph Vesey, Lillian Benton, and Jennifer Vesey and great grandchildren Luke Butler, Oliver Benton V, and Riley Ann Butler. She will be greatly missed by her most recent shelter rescue pup, Sophie.
The family wishes to thank her healthcare providers, including the West Cancer Clinic, “Where the Heart Is” Home Health Agency and Crossroads Hospice.
Funeral arrangements are with the Memorial Park Funeral Home & Cemetery. The family will receive visitors on Saturday, October 30 from 11:00 am- 1:00pm with the funeral service to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in her memory to the charity of your choice or the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
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