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He offered his support, both personal and professional, and left us with the feeling that everything in Elk City would be just fine. He was right, but now I know that he was right because he knew how he had set things in motion during his two decades of service in order to make things work for the benefit of the membership and visiting golfers.
Whenever I spoke to people from out of town that I was the new golf professional at Elk City, they would invariably ask about Mr. Ellis, "Have you met James Ellis?", "Does he still live in town?", "Is his health okay?", "Does he still play golf?", "He really cared for people"... In just a few seconds, you could sense the respect that people had for this man, and you could sense how he helped build Elk City Golf & Country Club's reputation in Western Oklahoma. Even sales reps would ask for him, even though he was no longer in business.
All of this gave Ramona and I the sense that we had been invited and received to be part of something really good, because as it proved to be, James Ellis did not set things in motion to help himself, but to serve others. We felt privileged to be part of it, even if we were not part of the history on how it had all happened.
You could tell from that first conversation that afternoon, and a few other short short visits and encounters, that Mr. Ellis was one who lived his Christian faith by being a witness of what he believed in, not by wanting to draw attention to himself. From everything I heard about him, he was a friend, a teacher and mentor to many. He touched many lives, including Ramona and myself, even if we only spent a few minutes altogether during the past 18 months. Without saying it outright, he truly believed in leaving things and people, better than you found them, and Elk City Golf & Country Club has a great reputation in the golf business because of him.
I last saw James Ellis a few weeks ago when I stopped by to visit him a few days after one of those frequent and scary hospital visits of the last few months. I knew I risked being turned down if he was still in bed, but I was happy to see that he was in his living room with Joyce. His face had this peace and joy that was truly contagious. He welcomed me and we began talking about his old friends, but he especially wanted to talk about kids. To my surprise, he asked by name about Joby, Berek, Keegan and the "Walker Kids", and we spoke about other kids he'd like to meet. They were all special to him.
When we finally said "good bye", we agreed that as soon as he was feeling stronger, I would pick him up and take him for a ride on a golf cart to visit around with golfers. I am sure he wanted to see his old friends as much as he wanted to see that things were still in place to serve all golfers. From my perspective, I also wanted to introduce him to those who didn't know him, but knew of him... "this is the man everyone talks about". Soon afterwards, his health began to give him problems again and, to our loss, the golf cart ride never happened.
Mr. Ellis, you will be missed... Sir!
From Alex, Ramona and all of those who cam in contact with you.
P.S. For more comments from all those who loved and appreciated Mr. Ellis, please go to our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/elkcitygolf