Ellis H. Smith was born on February 6, 1910, in Fannin, Mississippi, and was the son of Walter Bennett Smith and Mary Ella Alford Smith. During the 1927 flood, at 17 years old, he drove a large boat up and down the river picking up displaced people and taking them to safety or to the hospital. Recently "Southern Living" honored him with an article about his experiences during this time. It was on one of these trips that he met his first wife, Christine Durham. They were married later and he managed a farm at Stringtown, Mississippi, for three years before joining the Marine Corps in 1942.

Ellis, a Master Sergeant, was deployed from Camp Pendleton, California, to the Pacific theater of World War II. He fought in battles at Okinawa and Iwo Jima and was present at the Flag Raising on Iwo Jima. Fortunately, he was never wounded in the three years he served overseas.

After leaving the service he and Chris moved to Tribett, Mississippi, and was there until 1950 when he accepted a Civil Service job at Camp Pendleton, California. They lived there until he retired in 1989 and then moved back to Greenwood, Mississippi, to be close to their families. At the time of Chris's death, they had been married 63 years. He later married Alice Kathryn Turner, and was married to her for 20 years.

Ellis loved to sing—anytime, anywhere and enjoyed singing to the Indywood residents with Alice Kathryn accompanying him on the piano. He sang in the North Greenwood Baptist Church choir. At the time of his death, he was a member of First Baptist Church in Greenwood. A well-attended 100 year birthday party was held for him by members of First Baptist Church in 2010. He was also honored on his 100th birthday by a visit to Greenwood by the United States Marine Band where they performed a concert at the Civic Center in his honor.

Ellis was a faithful member of the American Legion and of the Kiwanis Club. He enjoyed serving as song leader in both of these organizations. He remained a proud Marine until his death.

Survivors include his wife, Alice Kathryn Smith; step-daughter, Ada Cates (Charles Cates); step-son, David Turner (Mary Turner); several nieces and nephews; and many great nieces and great nephews.

Visitation will be held at Wilson and Knight Funeral Home on Monday, February 9, 2015, from 10:00-11:00 a.m. The funeral service will be held at the funeral home at 11:00 a.m. with burial at Green Lawn Cemetery in Greenville, Mississippi.

Pallbearers will be William Dunn, Kirk Gray, David O'Bryan, Rob Spiller, Jan Verhage, and Charles Wright. Honorary pallbearers will be all members of American Legion Post 29 and all members of the Kiwanis Club.