Richard “Ricky” P. Ellis

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Published 12:14 pm Friday, July 18, 2025

Richard P. Ellis, 72, of Auburn, KY passed peacefully Wednesday, July 16, 2025 after a short but intense battle with cancer at Signature HealthCare.

Known to friends by several nicknames including “Ricky”, “Lester” or “The Rock”. He was always up for a good cup of coffee or a cold beer, and good conversation. He worked the fields of his family farm for many years raising countless crops and livestock. He began a new career at Bando manufacturing where he met many close friends. He retired from Bando in 2018 with multiple decades of service working on the line.

Retirement brought him joy and fulfillment. He moved to Auburn, Kentucky where he met neighbors and built a new community. He enjoyed cruising the streets of Auburn in his golf cart, with his dog Bebe, watching the trains roll through town, and listening to classic rock on his sun porch. He was an avid University of Kentucky wildcat fan never missing a basketball game (unless it was on too late). He enjoyed tracking the weather and making sure friends and family were up to date on the latest rainfall amounts and was faster to let people know about big storms than the local weatherman. He enjoyed his daily stops at the local watering hole for a cold beer and then on to the local butcher shop where he knew he could get his favorite cut of meat for dinner. He had it all and he was happy.

The Bowling Green native was a son of the late Floyd Hays Ellis and Sarah Ann Long Ellis. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jacquelyn Clark Ellis.

He attended the University of Kentucky and earned his Bachelor’s Degree from the Western Kentucky University in the field of Agriculture, but he will forever be a Wildcat.

Survivors include his daughter, Anna Morgan Ellis (Nevin Dawson); one grandson, Ari Ellis Dawson; two sisters, Nancy Ellis Chilton (Ira) and Anna Sue Heller (Craig), and his dog Bebe (who is in the care of his grandson, Ari).

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Floyd Hayes Ellis, Warren RECC Scholarship Fund at Western Kentucky University, College Heights Foundation.