Ellis Cravens' Obituary
Ellis L. Cravens, son of Grover Cleveland and Maude Etha Bolian Cravens, was born August 20, 1929, near Hartville, Missouri. He departed this life Tuesday, August 19, 2008, in St. John’s Regional Hospital, Springfield, Missouri, at the age of seventy-eight years, eleven months, and twenty-nine days. On December 25, 1952, Ellis was united in marriage to Mahalla Lee Smith, and to this union three children were born. He was preceded in death by his parents; eight brothers, Luther, Clifford, Wilbur, Rupert, Albert, Vernon, George, and Robert Cravens; and two sisters, Ruby Floyd and Eula Sulser. Ellis is survived by his wife, Hallie, of the home; three children, Vonda Walker and her husband, Russell, of Ozark, Arkansas, Joel Cravens and his wife, Sheila, of Hartville, Missouri, Becky Lillard and her husband, Mike, of Hartville, Missouri; eight grandchildren, Garrett Cravens, Jessica McCallister, Rodney Cravens, Jennifer Lillard, Andrea Walker, Bethany Walker, Caleb Walker, and Daniel Walker; two brothers, Farris Cravens and his wife, Mary, of Desoto, Missouri, and Marvin Cravens and his wife, Doris, of Mountain Grove, Missouri; a sister, Ruth Bills of Springfield, Missouri; his mother-in-law, Ruby Smith of Blue Springs, Missouri; numerous nieces and nephews as well as a host of other relatives and many dear friends. Ellis was born on the home place near Hartville and spent his younger years in the Hartville area. He later moved to Greensburg, Kansas, to work in the wheat harvest and was a graduate of Greensburg High School in the Class of 1950. After graduating from high school, Ellis attended Moody Bible Institute before being drafted into the service in 1953. (He served in the United States Army from 1953 to 1955 as a cook.) In 1955, after being honorably discharged from the Army, Ellis enrolled in the Free Will Baptist College in Nashville, Tennessee, where he graduated in 1958 with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Bible Sciences. He then transferred to Peabody Teacher’s College in Nashville, and graduated in the Class of 1959, with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Elementary Education. Ellis and Hallie then moved back to Hartville after graduation and bought the home place where Ellis was born and raised. He spent his first year of teaching at the Glenwood School, teaching all eight grades. He also taught seventh grade at Grovespring Elementary School for one year. Ellis spent twenty-nine years teaching in the Hartville School District and retired in 1990. He was saved as a teenager at Elk Creek Baptist Church. He also spent time pastoring churches in Tennessee and Missouri, including the Hartville Freewill Baptist Church, Happy Ridge, Caudle, Happy Home Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Phillipsburg Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and Mansfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church. After his health began to fail, Ellis and Mahalla became members of Elk Creek Baptist Church. His church family was very important to him. Later in life, Ellis would speak of how much he loved his family by saying, “I have a lovely wife of fifty-five years who gave me three wonderful children, eight wonderful grandchildren and not a cull in the bunch.” In his spare time, Ellis enjoyed building birdhouses and working in and sharing the produce from his garden. He also enjoyed working with children and loved to see them smile, especially when he was telling jokes and pretending to pull off his thumb. Ellis was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, son-in-law, and uncle, and was a caring neighbor and friend. We celebrate his life and accomplishments and will treasure the wonderful memories he has created for his family and many dear friends. Services will be at 2:00 pm Thursday August 21, 2008 at the Holman- Howe Funeral Home, Hartville. Burial in the New Home Cemetery. Visitation will be Wednesday evening 6-8:00 pm at the Funeral Home under the direction of the Holman- Howe Funeral Home Hartville, Missouri. A memroial has been established to the New Home Cemetery or the Wright County Children's home. Donations may be made through the funeral home. Return to top
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