Claude L. Ellis (Junior) was born on October 7, 1924 to Claude L. Ellis Sr. and Mabel Ellis in Bemidji, MN.  He attended Bemidji schools where he was a member of the drum corp. Upon graduating from high school in 1942, he enlisted in the Navy.  He served in the Pacific during WW II as a radarman on the carrier Kadashan Bay.  The carrier was struck by a Kamakazi in Leyte Gulf.  "Junior" was responsible for keeping the carrier in the middle of the river for 24 hours.  This was one of the worst battles of the war.

Upon his discharge he also was trained by the Navy as a pilot for small aircraft and liked to fly his uncle's float plane.  Junior became a member of the American Legion that year too, and he has remained a member for73 years.  In 2015 he was blessed to go on the Veteran's Honor Flight to Washington D.C.  In his words "this was one of the best days of my life!"

He married Yvonne (Sis) Reuter in 1946 and they had two daughters, Susan and Claudia.  The couple resided in Cass Lake until moving to Stillwater in recent years.  Claude (Junior) worked as a conductor on the Burlington Northern Railroad until his retirement at age 60. Then for 10 years they were snowbirds to AZ to avoid those harsh MN winters.

Junior was an avid hunter and fisherman.  He hunted elk in Montana with his buddies and landed a few muskies out of Cass Lake.  Since he loved the water, he always owned a boat and many weekends were spent boating as a family.  He and Sis enjoyed traveling and took many cruises and trips to Hawaii.

His yard was the envy of the neighbors.  It was always neatly manicured.  He grew vegetables in his garden and beautiful roses.  Junior was a musician at heart, always drumming on something. When he and Sis would go to dance club, he often filled in as the drummer.  Most week days you could find Junior enjoying a cup of coffee and a roll of the dice with his buddies at Dot's Café or playing a good game of poker.

For the past 7 years Claude has resided at Birchwood Healthcare Center in Forest Lake where he was well-liked by the staff.  He enjoyed playing Bingo and going out to lunch with his daughters to Ho Ho's or Keys.  He died on June 6, 2019 at age 94.  He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Yvonne, siblings Marilyn Larsen and William Ellis.

Claude is survived by his two daughters, Sue (Mike) Listermann and Claudia Aleshire, two granddaughters, Wendy (Kevin) Boldog, and Jaimee (Chad) Greene, and six great grandchildren,

Zach, Sarah, Ben and Caleb Boldog,  Kylee and Alex Greene, one sister, Genevieve Toftum, and several nieces and nephews.