Ellis Gilliam Martin

Ellis Gilliam Martin, 53, Weiser, passed away Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005, in a Weiser hospital. Funeral services will be at noon Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005, at the Church of Latter-day Saints Stake Center, Weiser. Burial will be in Hillcrest Cemetery, Weiser. Arrangements are under the direction of Thomason Funeral Home, Weiser.

The coach retired today, and the game must go on in his absence. Yet everlasting is his impact his counsel, his encouragement, his gaming spirit. Those who attended his school know fairness, teamwork, sportsmanship, but above all, enjoyment. His living example gave credence to the credo: it's how you play the game with all you've got; with a heart for the ensemble. Were it his, it was yours, for the moment shared was essential, the purpose of the endeavor.

Ellis was a gamer "game for any and all who were game" and he knew how to milk it.

While imparting the yield. Whether sport, music, poetry or life itself, there was everything to gain and a great time to be had. He bore a yoke under which three men would stagger, forever pushing his own limits, and spreading the spoils liberally. A heart cannot be bigger, and were it strong enough to travel a mile in his shoes, it would echo his sentiment: let's go again.

His generous spirit lives on in his wife, Sherrie; and seven children, Aaron, Rachelle, Sandy and Jeff, Angie, Daniel, Sara, and Cori; his grandchildren, Taylor, Ashleigh, and Samantha; his mother, Virginia; siblings, Cathleen, Maggie Rose, Richard, Robert, Nathan; and his loved ones in all who tried to keep up, and match his stride.

Ellis was preceded in death by his father, Lloyd