Larry Neal Ellis, 62 of Gilbert, WV passed away Friday, August 20, 2021 following a lingering illness at Bower’s Hospice House in Beckley, WV.
Born September 6, 1958 in Welch, WV. He was the son of the late Richard and Mary Ellen (Toler) Ellis.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Stephen Douglas Ellis.
Larry attended Gilbert High School, graduating in 1976. Larry started his lifelong career with automobiles soon after high school working in a body shop owned by C.A. Hatfield in Gilbert and then for both local car dealerships in the Gilbert area, Meade Chevrolet and Cline Ford (formerly Peak Ford). Larry’s hobbies were camping, fishing, hunting and you guessed it, racing! Larry’s passion was automobiles with speed! He built and drag raced a Camaro for a few years before deciding to build race cars for local race car owners Mark Hatfield, Lucky Compton, and Tyler Blankenship.
While working with Lucky he got involved with NASCAR and impressed many racing legends in the industry.
Survivors include his son Richard James (companion Kaitlin Byrd) of Hanover; daughter Shayna Noelle (companion Alex Bennett) of Charleston; brother James Richard (Jamie) Ellis of Roanoke, VA; his sisters, Sarah Jane (companion Jim Dotson) and Mary Elizabeth Varney (companion Bill Burchfield) of Gilbert.
In accordance with his final wishes, his remains will be cremated.
A memorial race in his honor will be held at a later date.
Mounts Funeral Home of Gilbert, WV is serving the Ellis Family in carrying out Larry’s final wishes.
He may be gone from our sight, but never from our hearts.
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