Born June 9, 1941, in
Upton, WY, Chuck was the son of Merle and Ida Ellis. The family moved to
Sheridan, WY, where he was raised and educated, graduating from Sheridan
High School in 1959. He went on to attend the University of Wyoming
and earned a degree in art education in May of 1965.
On July 2, 1965, in Sheridan, he was married to Nikki Booras, also
of Sheridan, Wyoming. Chuck and Nikki lived in Great Falls, Montana
and then Wheatland, Wyoming where he taught art for several years.
They then moved to Buffalo in 1968 where Chuck was offered a
position by the Johnson County School District to head the first art
program at Buffalo High School.
In 1969, he received his master's degree also from the University of
Wyoming. He oversaw the B.H.S. art program for 30 years. Following
his retirement in 1998, he opened an art matting and framing
business and continued to paint. He and his wife, Nikki, remained in
Buffalo until the time of his death.
In
his leisure, he enjoyed fishing, relaxing and working at the family
cabin site, working on his paintings and spending time in the
cherished company of family. He died Jan. 6, 2005, at his home in
Buffalo.
A small Memorial fund was established in his honor from the funds
received from friends and family at the time of his death. The Chuck
Ellis Art Scholarship Fund provided several scholarships to B.H.S.
students in order to advance their chosen skills in the art world.
We hope to continue to promote art and young artists through the
CMELLIS website in memory of Charles M Ellis and his many years of
devotion to creating art and young artists. You can help!
We are archiving all of the artwork of Charles M. Ellis and need
your help. Currently, this process has already recovered 6 forgotten
watercolors. We hope to recover all of his collection (20-30 more
works of art) over the next 10 years. This website and the
archive will be used strictly to recover art and promote art for
future generations. Friends, family, students, art buyers/collectors
of CMEllis artwork, your assistance is much appreciated. All artwork
is copyright protected and used here with permission of the
sponsoring owner(s).
CHARLES
“CHUCK” MERLE ELLIS
In
his leisure, he enjoyed fishing, relaxing and working at the family
cabin site, working on his paintings and spending time in the
cherished company of family. He died Jan. 6, 2005, at his home in
Buffalo.