Norman H. “Norm” Ellis, 87, of Atchison, Kansas formerly of Rushville, Missouri passed away Sunday, January 20, 2019 at his home.

Funeral services will be on Friday, January 25, 2019 at 10:30 a.m. at Sugar Creek Christian Church, Rushville, Missouri with Pastor Keith Hoover officiating. Interment will follow in Sugar Creek Cemetery. Family will receive friends on Thursday, January 24th from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Arensberg-Pruett Funeral Home. Memorial contributions are suggested to Atchison Hospice or Atchison Child Care and may be left in care of the Arensberg-Pruett Funeral Home with whom final care has been entrusted. Online condolences and memories of Norm may be shared at www.arensbergpruett.com.

Norman was born on June 26, 1931 in Rushville, Missouri the son of Silas John “Jack” Ellis and Rosalie (Faris) Ellis. He attended Shearer Grade School and then graduated from Atchison High School in 1949.

He and Dorothy Faye Spinner were united in marriage on March 7, 1969, at the First Christian Church in Lawrence, Kansas. Dorothy preceded him in death on November 7, 2013.

Norm proudly served his country in the United States Air Force from June 14, 1949 until his honorable discharge as a Disabled Veteran in December of 1952. He was deployed to the Korean War in 1951, as a Flight Engineer/Pilot of a B-26 military aircraft. He was disabled in enemy territory during a Napalm Bomb Flight in September of 1952; his plane was hit by ground fire, but landing was accomplished outside of enemy territory. He suffered a concussion, resulting in permanent hearing loss.

He began his employment with the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), now titled the FAA in 1957, as a Flight Service Specialist/General Aviation Officer working in Nebraska, Missouri and Alaska. He retired in December of 1966, due to disability. He then opened Ellis Barber & Style Shop in Atchison, Kansas in 1971, where he owned and operated his business for 47 years until retiring in March of 2018.

Norm was elected to the Atchison City Commission in 1980, where he served until 1991. During that time, he was appointed Mayor of the City of Atchison from 1983-1985, and 1990-1991. He was the former Second District Chair of the Democratic Party in Atchison.

He was a life member of the Fleming-Jackson-Seever Post #6 of the American Legion, where he served as commander from 2014-2018 and life member of V.F. W. Post #1175, both in Atchison, Kansas; life member of the Disabled American Veterans Memorial Post #1, Kansas City, Kansas. He was also a member of Atchison Elks Lodge BPOE #47 and all Masonic Orders as a 32nd degree Mason and Shriner. He was the District Commissioner of the Sunflower District Boy Scouts of America from 1984-1986, past President of Kansas City Area Air Traffic Controllers Association and member of the Bean Lake Progressive Club. He was the President of Sugar Creek Cemetery for twenty-five years.

Norm was honored with a marker at the Forest of Friendship in Atchison.

Norm was an avid Kansas City Chiefs fan.

Survivors include his children, Sidwell (Jay) Jones, Atchison, KS, Kully Ellis, Riverside, MO, Sherre (Michael) Hildman, Atchison, KS, Debra (Howard) Hooper, Atchison, KS, John Marcus Ellis, Biloxi, MS, Sheryl Burgeson, Kansas City, MO; a sister, Jane (Robert) Church, West Palm Beach, FL; a sister-in-law, Linda Jones, Rushville, MO; nieces, Leslie Jane (Keith) Wagner, Lygia Ann Church; nephews, Rusty Collins, Kenneth (Jamie) Klingenburg; seventeen grandchildren, eighteen great grandchildren, three great-great grandchildren; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and close friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 44 years Dorothy Faye Ellis, a sister Mary Ann Ellis and a daughter, Kim Sampson.