Former MSU library director Jack Ellis dies

Morehead State alumnus and former Library Director Jack Ellis died Sunday, Dec. 1, at the age of 92.  

A native of Morehead, Ellis was born Jan. 10, 1927, to the late Dorothy Williams Ellis and Lon B. Ellis. He was the husband of the late Janis Ruth Caudill Ellis, who preceded him in death.   

He attended the Breckinridge School and held degrees from MSU (57), Vanderbilt University and the University of Southern Mississippi. He was a veteran of WWII and a Methodist pastor.   

Ellis became the director of the Camden-Carroll Library in 1968 and served as a professor of library sciences until his retirement in 1985.  In 2006, he received the Ora Cline Award from the Morehead-Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, and in 2010, he was awarded the MSU Founders Award for community service.    

He was a weekly columnist for The Morehead News and authored several books about the history of Rowan County Eastern Kentucky, including “Morehead Memories: True Stories from Eastern Kentucky.” Ellis was a lifetime member of Phi Kappa Phi, American Library Association and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was a charter member of The National WWII Museum in New Orleans and served on the Kentucky Libraries and Archives Commission for 34 years. He was also a charter member of the Rowan County Veterans Association.   

Funeral services will be held Thursday, Dec. 5, at the Michael R. Gray Funeral Home in Morehead with Rev. Drew McNeill officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Corbie Ellington American Legion Post #126, P. O. Box 58, Morehead, KY 40351 or the Morehead United Methodist Church, 227 W. Main Street, Morehead, KY 40351.

More information can be found at the Michel R. Gray Funeral Home website.