Joseph C. "Pee Wee" Ellis

Joseph C. “Pee Wee” Ellis of Lake Wales passed away Saturday, November 4, 2017 at the age of 94.

A life-long resident of Lake Wales, Mr. Ellis was born in Millville, Florida in 1923 and came to Lake Wales at the age of two months with his parents, Joseph Leo Ellis and Quida Mae Ellis. Mr. Ellis attended Lake Wales High School, where he graduated in 1941.

He served three years in the “Eight Air Force” – 398 ^th Bomb Group – 603 ^rd Squadron – in the “European Theatre” during World War II. He was discharged in 1945 and came back to Lake Wales, joining the Johnson-Tillman, Inc. Insurance Agency where he had worked previously one year prior to service. He later became owner and president of the agency and spent his entire professional career in the insurance business, retiring in 1996 with 52 years of service.

He had a daughter and son by a previous marriage before marrying Mary E. “Edie” Weeks in 1970. Edie also had two sons, one who is now deceased.

Mr. Ellis was a Charter Member of the Lake Wales Lions Club, where he had several officer positions. He was also an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Lake Wales. He was an avid hunter and fisherman, and he played golf regularly in his younger years.

Pee Wee was proceeded in death by his mother, father and twin brother, “Pete” Ellis. He is survived by his wife, “Edie” Ellis; his daughter, Susan Durham (John) and son, Joe Ellis (Diane) of Lake Wales; eight grandchildren, several great-grandchildren and one step-son, Bruce Weeks.